Labour’s rebellion as welfare reform vote set to go ahead

0:02Hi, I'm Charlie Duffield and welcome back to The Standard Podcast. if you're new here hit follow and give us a rating for all the latest news head to standard.co.uk coming up later in the show with the gates of Worthy Farm opening today find out what makes Glastonbury Festival so special they could make so much money from sponsorship if they wanted to and so much money from just letting all the brands in but they don't do that they keep it quite focused on the music curating this lovely safe space for everyone you're not being aggressively marketed to. A lot of the money goes to charity. That's increasingly rare in this day and age.

0:44But first, London Mayor Sadiq Khan has joined the growing revolt against the government's proposed welfare reforms after Prime Minister Keir Starmer has vowed to press ahead with an overhaul of disability benefits. 134 MPs, including 120 Labour members, are now backing an amendment that threatens the Prime Minister's cuts. The Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill today sets out a tightening of criteria for the main disability benefit in England, which is known as PIP. It also sets out plans to cut the health element of Universal Credit and delay access to it until age 22. City Hall said that Londoners will lose£820 million in total as a result of the proposed changes.

1:34It added that tighter eligibility criteria for PIP will affect up to 46 % of current claimants and mean disabled Londoners face losses of between£3 ,800 and£5 ,700 per year. The figures surrounding welfare in the UK are striking. Nine million working-age people are currently economically inactive and personal independence payment claims per month have doubled in just five years. Joining us now is The Standards' chief political correspondent, Rachel Burford. Rachel, why has the government introduced these changes? The government said they want to save£5bn from Britain's welfare bill that they say is ballooning and they want to save£5bn by 2030 and these cuts are the only way to go about it.

2:24They want to get more people into work that have been on things like personal independence payments and universal credit. A lot of people already that are on personal independence payments or PIP and universal credit are actually already working. But they want to see more people get into work. And they say that they are putting in systems that will help support these people who think they may not be able to work or may not be able to work as much to get a job and to be more independent. So why are so many Labour MPs rebelling? This government came in and said they are the government of change and they want to change lots of things.

2:56But this has been particularly controversial because it does really threaten a lot of people's way of life and something that a lot of people see as their only means of survival. A lot of Labour MPs now have come out and said they do not agree with these cuts, that this is not what a Labour government should be doing. We've seen a mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, he has now come out against these cuts. Last night he was saying that what we can't do is take away the vital safety net. that so many vulnerable and disabled Londoners rely on. City Hall's own analysis has shown that Londoners will lose£820 million as a result of the proposed changes.

3:30And that's sort of 360 ,000 mostly poor, vulnerable and disabled Londoners, City Hall said. So they will face quite a big reduction in their incomes if these changes do go ahead. So that's why the Prime Minister is facing this big rebellion. And what happened at today's Prime Minister's questions? Rumours are so rife in Westminster today that because of the scale of the backlash against these reforms, that the government may have to pull the bill. Because if all the Labour MPs that have signed the amendment and threatened the cuts do vote against them or vote for this amendment, then they will not pass.

4:05And that will be huge embarrassment for the Prime Minister, especially one with such a huge majority in the Commons. But Angela Rayner, who was standing in for Mel Stride at PMQs today while Keir Starmer is at NATO, So she was challenged on whether this welfare reform vote will actually go ahead on Tuesday. She said, no, absolutely, it will be going ahead. She said, we won't walk away and stand by and abandon millions of people trapped in the failing system left behind by the Conservative Party. So she has said on Tuesday, all MPs will have to vote on these welfare reforms. Why is the welfare bill such a big headache for the government?

4:41Yeah, so I think obviously there is a huge number of people facing quite significant reductions in their income. A lot of people do rely on these payments, particularly PIP, personal independence payments, which are given to people with disabilities. Many of those people are in work and that disabled people are saying, these payments are things that allow me, help me and allow me to keep my job. And the same with universal credit. This is money that people do really rely on. I think some analysis has been done that there are more people in labour areas that are relying on these payments to essentially survive.

5:15A lot of MPs across the Commons, but a lot of Labour MPs particularly, have been getting emails and calls from their constituents that say, if you go ahead with these cuts, my life will be significantly worse and I will not be able to afford to live, essentially. So that is why it's been extremely controversial. And like I said, City Hall's own analysis show that Londoners will lose£820 million as a result of the proposed changes. And that will affect mostly poor, vulnerable and disabled Londoners who will already face significant challenges in their life. What does it say about the state of the UK that so many people who are already in work rely on these benefits to get by?

5:56There has been a lot of talk about the cost of living crisis and how much the cost of living has gone up in recent years, particularly since the pandemic. And people are struggling because they have not seen their wages rise in line with the cost of living. And that has made them have to rely on benefits perhaps more than they used to. The government says they've increased the minimum wage, but a lot of people, even with that increase in minimum wage, are still really struggling. We've seen energy bills, rents, mortgages, council tax, all increased by a lot in the last couple of years. It has resulted in people who were maybe not comfortable, but not worrying too much about money, now having to really worry about how they're going to pay their bills and how they're going to afford to live.

6:43Finally, what are those who are opposed to these benefits changes saying? There is a general consensus that perhaps the benefit system does need some kind of reform. There are certain complications to it. There are ways of perhaps some people getting benefits that they may not need or may not be totally entitled to. Most of the people that are on these benefits do massively rely on them and do need them. A lot of Labour MPs are saying that this bill is rushed, dangerously rushed, and ill thought through and the government hasn't done enough analysis to show how it will actually affect the people that do really rely on these payments.

7:24Let's go to a break. Coming up in part two, some top tips on what to pack if you're heading to Glastonbury this weekend and the best acts to see. We'll see you back here in just a moment.

7:46Welcome back. This morning at 8am, Glastonbury founder Michael Evis opened the gates to Worthy Farm, signalling the start of the five-day music extravaganza in Somerset. And with a schedule of more than 3 ,000 performers across the festival stages and venues, there's something to suit everyone. Joining us now before she heads to the fields herself is the Standards Commissioning Editor and Culture Writer, Vicky Jessup. So Vicky, what acts are expected to draw big crowds this year? We have Olivia Rodrigo, we have 1975 and we have New Young. That said, I feel like the biggest amount of buzz in the festival this year is probably not about the headline acts.

8:29It's about Charlie XCX, who is headlining the other stage. She has had a massive two years, obviously, since the release of her Brat album and she's been doing a world tour since then. I think we thought that last year would be Brat Summer and it turns out this year is also Brat Summer. And given Glastonbury's demographic, I think that's going to be very, very crowded. Glastonbury has this lovely tradition, I suppose, of doing secret sets and secret gigs. The biggest one of those, I would say, is probably Patchwork, who is due to play the Pyramid Stage. We don't know who they are for sure, but it's been very heavily rumoured that it's Pulp.

9:07so that is going to be a big crowd I think part of the fun of secret sets is kind of just turning up and seeing who's going to be there there's a rumor that Haim is going to play the park stage which again is going to cause a big crowd I think the park stage probably isn't built for that number of people I think last year Barry Can't Swim shut down the entire area when he did the set there so it'll be interesting to see how the crowd control works for that. Lots of people will be wanting to see the big headliners, but there's another side to the festival as well. What are some of the alternative activities people can enjoy?

9:42Performing arts has always been a massive part of the festival that I think is quite underappreciated and probably ignored by a lot of the punters. There's like a performing arts area, the circus area, improv and stand-up. There's a really good lineup this year at the Pilton Palace of speakers. So we have really big names like Shuti Gatwa's going if you want to hear some interesting and thought-provoking discussion that's always a good place to go I also think the healing fields is another overlooked area which is next to the stone circle and that's just a lovely place to go they have stuff like chakra readings they do foot massages god bless the people doing foot massages for Glastonbury punters you can even get Glastonbury married in that space so that's always really lovely I think Glastonbury is a festival that really rewards going off the beaten track and maybe digging into kind of that side of it as well as the music.

10:33Tell us more about the controversial moments in the run up to the festival. So I think the biggest one is probably kneecap. So this is the Northern Irish, Irish language, punk rap band, I guess, is maybe one way to describe them. And they've been in the news a lot since the start of the year for their very openly pro-Palestinian, pro-Gaza stance. One of its members was charged under the UK terror laws recently for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at a gig and allegedly telling people to kill your local MP. That's still going through the courts right now. And there has been quite a few politicians who say that NICAP shouldn't play.

11:13NICAP currently are scheduled to play. The BBC hasn't yet confirmed whether they'll be filming that. They're famously impartial and there will definitely be pro-Palestine chants. So I guess all eyes on this space. Currently, they're still playing and the festival is starting today, but things can change at the drop of a hat. So let's see. And in terms of other controversies, I would say maybe the other one is overcrowding. I went to the festival last year and it was noticeably very, very busy to the point where there were jams in certain areas. I went to a gig for Bicep at the Icon Stage, which was shut down halfway through due to problems with crowding and it did feel quite unsafe.

11:51It felt like people were pressing sardines in their can. If something went wrong, I feel like it would be very hard to get out of that crowd. The railway tracks, which run throughout the festival from one side of the festival to the other, at nighttime, the only space that's open really until early hours is the southeast corner. So naturally, everybody goes there. But then that means there's a lot of people, let's say 100 ,000 people packed into a very small space, which means it's just impossible to get anywhere. Avril Lavigne played the other stage last year and basically shut down the entirety of that area.

12:21I think stewards had to ban people from going to that area because there were just too many people. Charlie XCX played the levels last year, which is this very small club space. I think it only fits about a few thousand people, which was right after the Dua Lipa's headline pyramid stage slot. And naturally the queues were just insane to get in there. They should have moved it to a bigger stage. I don't know why they did them because it was the throes of Bratzummer 2024. So I think they've been a bit more tactical about it this time around in splitting up the headliners Emily Evis said they'd sold a few thousand less tickets this year as well for instance when Charlie XCX plays the other stage which would be the big crowd drawer I'd say they've also put Dochi this very up-and-coming American rapper on another stage so they're really working to split the audience I'm quite conflicted about which one of those gigs I'll be going to and for those who are attending Glastonbury for the first time what are your top tips I would say like comfort is king it's tempting to want to bring lovely shoes that you will look great in but honestly you walk so much at Glastonbury I think you do an average of 50 ,000 steps a day so you want to make sure that the shoes you're bringing are shoes that you can do that in like blisters are such a killer at Glastonbury bring blister blasters as well though bring some kind of rehydration sachet because it's hot there you walk a lot you're drinking alcohol you want to make sure that you're getting all that water the heat stroke is a real thing at Glastonbury and I would also say bring lots of layers it's hot in the day but it's the countryside it gets really cold at night certainly I didn't realize this when I went for the first time and I was there like absolutely shivering on my air mattress and then you wake up a few hours later and it's 8am and you're sweltering because the sun is like beaming onto your tent bring lots of layers yes and maybe bring some like good hearing protection one last thing bring battery packs they are a godsend there isn't really reliable charging sources at Glastonbury so bring as many of those as you can because your phone will thank you you're one of the lucky ones to be attending this year what are you most looking forward to I think one of the best things about Glastonbury is just walking around and soaking in the atmosphere not to be too evangelical about it it's such a nice vibe everyone's so happy everyone's so relaxed everyone's there for like good music to hang out with their friends you can go just purely see electronic music if that's what you want to do you can go purely see jazz and also just all the festivals hidden corners is something that I really enjoy exploring you know Glastonbury's full of secrets.

14:40It's full of secret sets. It's full of people just doing random things in random tents. I think the festival really does reward just going off the beaten track and maybe putting a few hours into literally just wandering around and see what you come across because it's always surprising. You might discover your new favourite artist. Finally, what makes the festival so special? I think what makes the festival so special is that it is still a family-run business. So obviously it was set up by Michael Evis back in the day. It's now mostly run by his daughter, Emily and while so many festivals now I think are so corporate a lot of them have been bought out and of course Glastonbury is like partially owned by Live Nation it still maintains that kind of like quite friendly family feeling.

15:22And that's The Standard. For all the latest news head to standard.co.uk. If you'd like to get in touch please do drop us a line at podcasts at standard.co.uk. We'll be back here tomorrow at 4pm. We'll see you then.