Parliament: Welfare - Benefits rebels spurn Darling's new concession

REBEL LABOUR MPs refused to accept last-minute concessions over the Government's welfare reforms yesterday and vowed to oppose cuts in benefits for the disabled in a crucial Commons vote tomorrow night.

Organisers of the revolt claimed they had won new converts to their cause despite a "charm offensive" by Alistair Darling, the Social Security Secretary, who addressed 80 Labour MPs at Westminster last night and held talks with prominent rebels.

Mr Darling has tabled amendments to the Welfare Reform Bill to soften the blow of his shake-up in incapacity benefit. As The Independent disclosed yesterday, claimants will now be able to have an occupational pension of pounds 85 a week before their benefit is cut, pounds 35 higher than the figure originally proposed by the Government but rejected by the House of Lords.

In a second big concession, Mr Darling announced that claimants who had not paid any national insurance contributions in the past three years would qualify for the benefit, a non-paying period a year longer than originally proposed.

In May, the Government suffered its biggest backbench revolt since the general election when 67 Labour MPs voted against the Welfare Reform Bill and another 39 did not vote.

Ministers hope that Mr Darling's concessions will ensure a smaller rebellion tomorrow but his Labour critics warned that some MPs who abstained last time may oppose the Government.

The Government's anxiety over the vote was shown when ministers were called back from visits abroad so that they could take part.

A big rebellion would encourage the Lords to throw out the Government's proposals for a second time. With the current Parliamentary session due to end next week, ministers would have to play "ping pong" with the Lords to stop the Bill being wrecked.

Lynne Jones, Labour MP for Birmingham Selly Oak, said after last night's meeting that many Labour MPs remained "very unhappy" with the concessions. She said many poor people would still be penalised by the Bill and the rebels would demand the cut-off point for occupational pensions be pounds 128 a week, in line with an amendment passed in the Lords.

Frank Field, a former minister for welfare reform, said: "We all feel sick about voting against a Labour government. That is not what we were sent here to do. I hope the Government will come forward with new proposals when it sees the strength of feeling."

Mr Darling told Labour MPs the principles behind the Bill were fair and insisted it would provide more help from those in greatest need. He warned that the changes demanded by the Lords would mean that people could have an early retirement income of almost pounds 23,000 a year before they lost their entitlement to incapacity benefit.

But Lord Ashley of Stoke, the veteran campaigner for disabled rights, said the concessions were too small and affected too few people. "The whole Bill can be lost unless the Government makes further concessions," he said.