UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to unveil a renewed initiative to reform the country’s social security system, months after an earlier proposal was blocked by a rebellion within his own Labour Party. The announcement is scheduled for Monday.
According to excerpts released by the Prime Minister’s Office, Starmer will address the issue in the wake of last week’s budget, which proposed tax increases to tackle the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. While the budget received a positive response from financial markets, it drew sharp criticism from Conservative opponents.
The Conservatives have accused Chancellor Rachel Reeves of misrepresenting the state of the economy ahead of the budget. Reeves, however, dismissed the allegations in an interview on Sunday.
Recent opinion polls show the Labour government under pressure on multiple fronts, including criticism over its failure to accelerate economic growth. Against this backdrop, Starmer is expected to defend his government’s economic strategy and revisit the subject of social security reforms.
In his speech, he will say: “We must face the reality that the welfare state is trapping people not only in poverty but also in unemployment.”
Announcing new investment in apprenticeship programs for young people, Starmer will add: “We must reform our welfare state as well.”
The UK is currently experiencing a record number of young people out of the workforce due to long-term illness. Starmer will warn that those excluded “simply for being neurodivergent or disabled” risk being locked into “decades of unemployment and dependency.”
“This harms the economy, undermines productivity, and—most importantly—wastes the country’s potential and opportunity,” he will say.
On the welfare system, he is expected to add: “We cannot afford incentives that hold young people back from fulfilling their potential.”
Starmer is also likely to announce measures aimed at easing regulatory burdens on businesses.
The Labour government was forced to retreat from its earlier reform plans last summer, which included cuts to disability and sickness benefits, after more than 120 Labour MPs staged a rebellion.
Many within his party have since accused Starmer of leaning too far to the right and focusing on countering the rise of the anti-immigration Reform UK party a direction critics say diverges from Labour’s traditional centre-left principles.
Source: AFP