Plaid Cymru hits out at Labour welfare reforms despite concessions

Plaid Cymru has slammed Labour’s welfare reforms despite concessions announced on Friday, warning of disproportionate harm to Wales.

The UK Government’s original package of reforms sought to restrict eligibility for Pip, the main disability payment in England and Wales, as well as cutting the health-related element of universal credit.

Existing recipients were to be given a 13-week phase-out period of financial support in an earlier move that was seen as a bid to head off opposition.

Now, the changes to Pip will be implemented in November 2026 and apply to new claimants only while all existing recipients of the health element of universal credit will have their incomes protected in real terms.

‘Fundamentally flawed’

Plaid Cymru has described these concessions as “inadequate sticking plasters on a fundamentally flawed agenda,” and warned that “creating a two-tier system between existing and future claimants does not eliminate injustice but delays and redistributes it”.

The party’s Work and Pensions spokesperson Ann Davies MP said the proposed Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill would cause “grave hardship” to disabled people, particularly young people with mental health conditions, and risks replicating the worst injustices of previous Conservative regimes.

In Wales, around 30% of the population is disabled and the poverty rate among disabled adults is among the highest in the UK, however the UK Government has refused to publish a Wales-specific impact assessment for the Bill.

‘Direct attack’

Ms Davies said: “The current system already fails too many people. But instead of meaningful reform that helps the sick and disabled play the most active role possible in society, the Labour Government’s plan is to make it even harder for disabled people to access vital support. This is a direct attack on some of the most vulnerable people in our society, and an insult to the post-industrial Welsh communities Labour claims to represent.

“The so-called concessions announced this week are no more than sticking plasters on a fundamentally flawed bill. There is no fairness in protecting existing claimants while penalising those who become disabled in the future. People do not choose when to get sick or disabled, and so arbitrary cutoff dates make no sense.

“These proposals would cause grave hardship to disabled people and young people with mental health conditions, and they risk replicating the worst injustices of past Conservative welfare systems.

“The economic hit to Wales will be disproportionate, and the Labour UK Government’s refusal to publish a Wales-specific impact assessment is a slap in the face to the people of Wales. If the Welsh Government have a backbone, they will oppose this terrible bill in its entirety.

“The UK Government may have offered short-term concessions, but tweaks around the edges won’t fix a broken system. What we need is investment in inclusive employment, individualised support, and long-term savings through genuinely fair welfare – not cuts that push people further into hardship.

“Our response to the consultation outlines why Plaid Cymru MPs will be voting against this Bill at second reading next week.”

‘A good place’

Speaking after Friday’s U-turn on Pip, The UK Government’s Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said the party was in “a good place” having fended off a backbench rebellion.

126 Labour MPs had signed an amendment that would halt the Bill in its tracks when it faces its first Commons hurdle on Tuesday.

Ms Kendall denied suggestions she had found it “difficult” to water down reforms she had so strenuously defended and said the concessions left the Bill in “the right place”.

“We have listened to people, we have engaged with them,” she said.

“I think we’re in a good place now, alongside the huge investments we are putting in to create the jobs that people need in every part of the country… but also to make sure there’s employment support for those who can work and protections for those who can’t.”

The government has also left the door open to further reform down the line, with Ms Kendall saying there need to be “changes in the future” to ensure “people who can work do”.

But the reversal means Chancellor Rachel Reeves now faces a scramble to fill a potential hole in her budget this autumn, with the cuts now likely to save much less than the £4.8 billion the Government had expected.

Economists at the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Resolution Foundation have both suggested the changes could reduce that figure by up to £3 billion.