By Isle of Wight Observer
Labour’s controversial welfare bill has passed its first hurdle in the House of Commons, but the party’s working majority was slashed from 175 to just 75 — and both of the Island’s MPs voted against it.
The bill was intended to save £5.5 billion, but following a series of concessions to Labour rebels — including a key change just 90 minutes before the vote — the proposals are now expected to save nothing at all. The result has left the Prime Minister’s authority over his party severely weakened.
Isle of Wight East MP, Joe Robertson, voted with his Conservative colleagues against the bill. He said: “This is not about the fair, root-and-branch reform that we need. It is a quick cash grab because the Chancellor has run out of money.”
Isle of Wight West MP, Richard Quigley, was also steadfast in his opposition. He was one of 49 Labour MPs who refused to back the bill, despite the watered-down proposals.
He said: “Everyone agrees that the welfare system needs reform, but the bill that we were asked to vote on wasn’t reform and didn’t include the promised amendments; they will come next week.
“I stood for election to help the vulnerable in society and, as it stood, the bill wouldn’t do that. I won’t be an MP forever, but people with a disability will always need our protection.
“I’m not a natural rebel and it took a long time for me to get to the position of voting against my government. The promised concessions avoid the issues we have highlighted, so it’s a win for people that were fearful they would be forced into poverty.
“We need to worry less about what the Treasury thinks and more about our society. Sure Start worked because we invested up front and it paid huge dividends — that is what we are urging the government to do from this point forward.”