Starmer’s team ask Labour MPs to remove names from rebel amendment that could bring down welfare bill

Published

5 months ago

June 25, 2025

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Cabinet ministers have been asking Labour MPs to take their name off a rebel amendment to the government’s controversial welfare bill, Sky News can reveal.

In an attempt to quell the mounting rebellion of more than 100 MPs across all wings of the party, cabinet ministers were instructed to ring around the signatories of the amendment in a bid to get them to back the welfare cuts ahead of a planned vote next Tuesday.

Politics latest: PM ‘very confident’ he’ll remain Labour leader

Two Labour MPs said they had been asked if they would take their names off the amendment, while one was asked if they would be prepared to abstain on the bill next week.

One Labour MP said: “‘The more they tell people to take their names off, the more names are added on.”

Others were also told their actions could provoke a fresh leadership challenge and that they were aligning themselves with Nigel Farage in a bid to get them to back down.

“I had a conversation with a senior cabinet member yesterday who basically said if the government is defeated next week it will trigger a leadership contest,” a Labour MP said.

“I can see how that might be the case but I would argue if that’s where we end up it’s because the government have allowed that to happen. The ball is very much in their court.

“By and large the rebels do not want this to be about leadership. We just want to government to listen.”

Another added that while they had not received a call from a cabinet minister, they knew “some colleagues are being told there will be a leadership challenge or a general election which is utter nonsense”, adding: “Everything is all over the place.”

The amendment, if passed, would effectively kill the government’s welfare reforms by failing to give it a second reading in the Commons.

What are the main changes in the welfare bill?

The most controversial elements of the government’s welfare bill are changes to PIP and Universal Credit.

PIP is money for people who have extra care needs or mobility needs as a result of a disability.

People who claim it – some of whom are in work – are awarded points depending on their ability to do certain activities, such as washing and preparing food, and this influences how much they will receive.

Under the plans, from November 2026, people will need to score a minimum of four points in at least one activity to qualify for the daily living element of PIP – instead of fewer points across a broader range of tasks the person needs help with.

The changes do not affect the mobility component of PIP.

And from April next year, the health element of Universal Credit will be frozen in cash terms for existing claimants at £97 per week until 2029/2030.

For new claimants, the health element of Universal Credit will be reduced to £50 per week.

However, ministers point to the fact that the Universal Credit standard allowance will increase from £92 per week in 2025-26 to £106 per week by 2029-30.

Overall, 3.2 million families are expected to lose an average of £1,720 by the end of 2030 due to the changes.

However, the government has stressed that these figures do not take into account the £1bn that is being put towards helping the long-term sick and disabled back into work.

It calls for a delay to the £5bn package to assess the impact of cuts to personal independence payments (PIP) and expresses concerns about the government’s own figures showing 250,000 people could be pushed into poverty – including 50,000 children.

The fact the amendment was tabled by Dame Meg Hillier, chair of the Treasury select committee, with the support of 12 other select committee chairs, has alarmed Downing Street – as has the sheer scale of the rebellion.

At least 123 Labour MPs have signed the public amendment, but Sky News understands more names are likely to appear in the coming days.

While Sir Keir Starmer and his deputy, Angela Rayner, have insisted the vote will go ahead next Tuesday, the decision to instruct cabinet ministers to call around colleagues suggests the government is concerned about potentially losing the vote.

‘The government is not listening’

A Labour MP who signed the amendment said most rebels wanted the government to pause the proposals pending a proper consultation.

They said the fact that the text of the bill had been published before the consultation had closed was proof the government was “not listening”.

Another MP said they had raised concerns that if constituents are moved from PIP to universal credit they could potentially exceed the benefits cap, which could disproportionally hit those living in cities where the cost of living is higher.

“I can’t look at my constituents and say I’m confident this won’t negatively affect them,” they said.

The MP also criticised the government’s approach to keeping MPs on side, saying it had failed to make the case for reform consistently.

“The engagement stopped after the initial flurry of bad press. Now there is a small amount of activity before the vote. Ministers need to be out there; the PM needs to be out there.”

Despite the growing rebellion, the prime minister has indicated he is not willing to offer concessions on the government’s welfare plans.

Asked by reporters at the NATO summit in the Netherlands if he was willing to make changes to the bill, Sir Keir said: “We have got to make the reforms to our system. It isn’t working as it is.

“It doesn’t work as it stands for people who desperately need help to get into work or for people who need protection. It is broken.

“We were elected in to change that which is broken, and that’s what we will do, and that’s why we will press ahead with reforms.”

Downing Street has been contacted for comment.

Politics

Prediction markets bet on Coinbase-linked Hassett as top Fed pick

Published

8 hours ago

December 1, 2025

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Prediction markets bet on Coinbase-linked Hassett as top Fed pick

Prediction markets Polymarket and Kalshi view Kevin Hassett, US President Donald Trump’s National Economic Council director, as the favorite to replace Jerome Powell as the next Federal Reserve chair.

The odds of Hassett filling the seat have spiked to 66% on Polymarket and 74% on Kalshi at the time of writing. Hassett is widely viewed as crypto‑friendly thanks to his past role on Coinbase’s advisory council, a disclosed seven‑figure stake in the exchange and his leadership of the White House digital asset working group.

Founder and CEO of Wyoming-based Custodia Bank, and a prominent advocate for crypto-friendly regulations, Caitlin Long, commented on X:

“If this comes true & Hassett does become Fed chairman, anti-#crypto people at the Fed who still hold positions of power will finally be out (well, most of them anyway). BIG changes will be coming to the Fed.”

Kevin Hassett’s crypto credentials

Hassett is a long-time Republican policy economist who returned to Washington as Trump’s top economic adviser and has now emerged as the market-implied frontrunner to lead the Fed.

His financial disclosure reveals at least a seven‑figure Coinbase stake and compensation for serving on the exchange’s Academic and Regulatory Advisory Council, placing him unusually close to the crypto industry for a potential Fed chair.

Still, crypto has been burned before by reading too much into “crypto‑literate” resumes. Gary Gensler arrived at the Securities and Exchange Commission with MIT blockchain courses under his belt, but went on to preside over a wave of high‑profile enforcement actions, some of which critics branded as “Operation Chokepoint 2.0.”

A Hassett-led Fed might be more open to experimentation and less reflexively hostile to bank‑crypto activity. Still, the institution’s mandate on financial stability means markets should not assume a one‑way bet on deregulation.

Supervision pushback inside the Fed

The Hassett odds have jumped just as the Fed’s own approach to bank supervision has received pushback from veterans like Fed Governor Michael Barr, who earned his reputation as one of Operation Chokepoint 2.0’s key architects.

According to Caitlin Long, while he Barr “was Vice Chairman of Supervision & Regulation he did Warren’s bidding,” and he “has made it clear he will oppose changes made by Trump & his appointees.”

On Nov. 18, the Fed released new Supervisory Operating Principles that shift examiners toward a “risk‑first” framework, directing staff to focus on material safety‑and‑soundness risks rather than procedural or documentation issues.

In a speech the same day, Barr warned that narrowing oversight, weakening ratings frameworks and making it harder to issue enforcement actions or matters requiring attention could leave supervisors slower to act on emerging risks, arguing that gutting those tools may repeat pre‑crisis mistakes.

Days later, in Consumer Affairs Letter 25‑1, the Fed clarified that the new Supervisory Operating Principles do not apply to its Consumer Affairs supervision program (an area under Barr’s committee as a governor).

If prediction markets are right and a crypto‑friendly Hassett inherits this landscape, his Fed would not be writing on a blank slate but stepping into an institution already mid‑pivot on how hard (and where) it leans on banks.