Southwark Labour Back “Devastating” Welfare Cuts

At last night’s explosive Council Assembly, which saw three Labour councillors defy the whip for the first time since 2018, the new leader of Southwark Council refused to condemn the welfare reform bill, which has been branded by charities as “devastating”.  

This comes mere weeks after the national Labour Party descended into chaos and division over its flagship welfare reforms, which would have seen vital welfare payments stripped from thousands of disabled people in Southwark alone. The Government was then forced into a climbdown, with a watered down version without the cuts to PIP included. 

However, Liberal Democrats have said that even the watered down bill still contains worrying changes to the health element of universal credit, and poses massive challenges to carers and disabled people.  

At the council assembly, opposition leader Cllr Victor Chamberlain referred to the farcical events unfolding at all levels of the Labour party, locally and nationally. He pointed out that his written question urging the council to back calls to pull the bill was answered by one leader (Cllr Keiron Williams), his initial replacement (Cllr James McAsh) had signalled opposition to the reforms, and was now asking his oral question to a third leader.

Cllr Sarah King, who was confirmed to be leader of the Labour Group and Council in a vote in which three Labour councillors rebelled due to “interference from the Labour Party”, then not only refused to condemn the cuts, but celebrated them as “Labour at its best”. 

A later motion from the Liberal Democrats repeating the call to scrap the bill was then debated, in which the Labour group again was whipped to support the Government in its reforms which are set to plunge thousands into poverty. In what demonstrates the clear divisions within the Labour party, again two Labour councillors broke the whip to abstain.  

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Group Leader Cllr Victor Chamberlain said:  

“it is genuinely shameful that as her first act as leader of the council, Cllr Sarah King declined the opportunity to stand up for Southwark residents, and has instead sided with Neil Coyle who has own chaos in local democratic processes.  

To say that this is “the Labour party at its best” shows exactly the Labour party’s true colours: more interested in naval gazing and blind party support than working to protect the most vulnerable in our society. 

I’m proud that we have consistently opposed these cuts, and will continue to campaign to have the bill pulled in order to go back to the drawing board, working with and for disabled people, not against them.”