A disabled Labour MP made a moving speech in tears just hours before her colleagues voted for disability cuts.
Dr Marie Tidball appeared close to tears as she told fellow MPs why she would not be endorsing Keir Starmer’s welfare changes.
It came just hours before her party voted in favour of the government’s bill by 335 votes for, to 260 against – giving Keir Starmer a majority of 75.
They also rejected an amendment to kill off the legislation altogether that had been tabled by Labour backbencher Rachael Maskell, although this was still backed by 149 MPs.
Speaking in a debate ahead of a crunch Commons vote on Tuesday evening, Tidball said: “I am now one of the only visibly disabled members of parliament. I am proud that our manifesto committed to championing the rights of disabled people, and the principle of working with disabled people to ensure our views and voices are at the heart of all we do.
“My community nurtured me growing up, and they taught me the values of fairness, equality, community. So it is with a heavy, broken heart that I will be voting against this bill today.
“As a matter of conscience, I need my constituents to know I cannot support the proposed changes to PIP as currently drafted on the face of the bill before us today.”
It marks the biggest rebellion of Sir Keir’s premiership to date as 49 Labour MPs voted against the changes.
In a last ditch bid to calm a rebellion, the PM was forced to shelve plans to make major cuts to personal independence payments 90 minutes before the vote was due to take place.
The concession to rebel backbenchers means eligibility criteria for Pip are pending a review. Under the original proposals, it was planned to cut the health element of universal credit and make it harder for disabled people to claim PIP in an attempt to save £5 billion from the welfare bill.
But in a dramatic intervention in the Commons this afternoon, DWP minister Stephen Timms confirmed the U-turn, saying the findings of his review would be published before any changes to the Pip system were carried out.