Labour whip quits over Starmer's benefits cuts
Keir Starmer has suffered a blow after one of his frontbench team resigned, saying she could not back cuts that will hit disabled people.
Vicky Foxcroft dramatically quit as a government whip and called on the prime minister to 'support more disabled people into work' instead.
In a letter to the prime minister, she said she could not vote "for reforms which include cuts to disabled people's finances'.
She added: 'With a heavy heart, I have written to the prime minister to tender my resignation as a whip. Whilst I will continue to support the government in delivering the change the country so desperately needs, I cannot vote in favour of the proposed reforms to disability benefits.'
She said that she understood 'the need to address the ever-increasing welfare bill in these difficult economic times, but I have always believed this could and should be done by supporting more disabled people into work. I do not believe that cuts to personal independence payment (PIP) and the health element of Universal Credit should be part of the solution.'
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