Labour MP Rachel Maskell has claimed that some of her colleagues were “bullied” into voting for the controversial Welfare Reform Bill — leaving them “deeply distressed”.
The York Central MP, who voted against the bill, told LBC that pressure had been placed on MPs to back the legislation, despite serious concerns over its impact on disabled people.
“Some of my colleagues have described it as bullying,” she said. “They’ve been deeply distressed at what has happened — and that is completely inappropriate in the Labour Party.”
😬 No details — but multiple sources
While Ms Maskell did not name names or go into detail, she insisted she had heard similar stories from multiple MPs. “I wasn’t involved, but colleagues said they were distressed by the conversations they had,” she said.
Labour, however, has rejected the claim entirely, saying it’s “not something we recognise” and calling the allegations “unsubstantiated”.
🚨 Welfare bill passes after dramatic climbdown
The Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill passed its second reading on Monday night by 335 votes to 260 — a majority of 75. But it came after a frantic day of backroom dealing, with Keir Starmer forced into last-minute concessions to avoid a full-blown rebellion.
Key reforms to Personal Independence Payments (PIP) were removed just 90 minutes before the vote, meaning no changes will be made until after a full review.
📉 ‘Extraordinary day’ in parliament
Maskell slammed the government’s approach, saying: “I voted against the legislation today because I was representing my constituents — and disabled people across the country. To know that 150,000 people would be pushed into poverty is a step too far.”
She described the debate as a powerful moment for Parliament — but said the process had left many confused and worried. “We need clarity now,” she urged. “Disabled people are anxious and have had no voice in this process.”
🔥 Burgon: ‘This bill should have been pulled’
Labour MP Richard Burgon also tore into the party leadership, accusing them of rushing a flawed bill through just to save political face.
“This is the winter fuel debacle times 100,” he said. “This doesn’t pass the test of whether you can explain it to your constituents.”
💥 Backlash from both sides
The chaos wasn’t limited to Labour. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch slammed the government for what she called “utter capitulation”, describing the final bill as “pointless”.
“They should bin it, do their homework, and come back with something serious,” she said. “Starmer cannot govern.”
🛑 Some Labour MPs still backed the bill
Despite the backlash, some Labour MPs were reassured enough by the last-minute changes to support the legislation.
Josh Fenton Glynn, MP for Calder Valley, said: “They changed enough that I felt confident the new bill will help sort out the system.”
North Somerset MP Sadik Al-Hassan added: “The negative aspects of the bill have been stripped out.”
📉 What now for Reeves’ savings plan?
Originally expected to save £4.8 billion a year, the reforms were already watered down to £2.3 billion before this week’s climbdown. Now, with PIP changes delayed, it’s unclear how much money — if any — the bill will actually save.
That’s likely to cause a fresh headache for Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who had pinned her hopes on the savings to balance the books.
You may also like: Watch: Rebel Labour MP slams Starmer’s ‘Dickensian’ welfare cuts in emotional Commons speech
