‘Can’t duck the issue’ of UK’s soaring benefits bill, Liz Kendall tells LBC
18 March 2025, 19:43 | Updated: 18 March 2025, 19:46
Liz Kendall has told LBC that the welfare system ‘has to be reformed’ as the government faces a backlash from Labour MPs for their plans to shake up the benefits system.
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The Work and Pensions Secretary has told LBC’s Andrew Marr that ‘we have to reform the [welfare] system, so it lasts for the future’.
Ms Kendall has claimed her sweeping reforms could shave £5 billion of the welfare bill before the end of 2030 as she vowed to fix the "broken benefits system".
Several Labour MPs have criticised the move, with the MP for Norwich South Clive Lewis warning the welfare reforms will cause “pain and difficulty” for millions of Britons.
But Liz Kendall said the issue can’t be ignored, and that the government ‘can’t duck this issue.’
Speaking on Tonight with Andrew Marr on LBC, she said: "When there are one thousand new PIP awards every day – the equivalent of adding a city the size of Leicester every year – my real concern is we need a social security system that is going to last into the longer term.”
Changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) - the main disability benefit - could be the most controversial of all Ms Kendall's announcements, as only the most severely disabled will qualify for the payment.
“We do want to focus PIP on those with higher needs,” Ms Kendall said, adding that “we are going to see a doubling of the number of claims for PIP from 2 to 4.3 million.”
Read more: Labour's benefits crackdown: From PIP to Universal Credit, what does it mean for you?
She said the increase in applicants will largely come from young people and those with mental health conditions, but that claiming rates are “much higher in areas of the country that are struggling economically.”
“We are going to focus PIP going forward on those with higher needs whilst we also look at the assessment process,” Ms Kendall said.
Under the changes, people will need to score a minimum of four points in one category to qualify for the daily living element of Pip. It won’t affect the mobility component of this benefit payment, but signals that eligibility for Pip will be stricter.
Asked about those claiming PIP because they are suffering with mental health problems, the Work and Pensions Secretary said “PIP was never set up to deal with these problems.”
“PIP has always been a contribution towards the extra costs of living with a disability and that will absolutely remain, but PIP was never set up to deal with these problems.
She added: “Certainly, on mental health there is lots of really good evidence now that being in work is good for your mental health, for anxiety and depression but also for serious mental health conditions like psychosis and schizophrenia.
“So, we’ve got to do more to get those who can work into work, but we’ve also got to make sure that the social security system is going to last for decades to come and that’s my real concern.’”
Ms Kendall said the government’s welfare reform plan is not driven by the Treasury, but by ‘people who have been given a miserable life’.
She said: “I’m not driven by a spreadsheet, I’m driven by people, people who have been written off and denied chances and choices in life that they deserve, written off and given a miserable life on benefits with no hope for the future.”
There are currently 2.8 million people out of work due to long-term sickness, and the number of people claiming disability benefits is expected to double. Meanwhile, one in every 10 working-age people in Britain is now claiming at least one type of health or disability benefits.
Labour claims its new changes will end the ‘sticking plaster approach' of previous governments in an effort to stop the country's productivity from plummeting.
