How to organise a government rebellion

Also this week: Fighting for disability rights and Labour at a crossroads.

On 24 June, a week before the welfare debate, I chaired the National Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast. Some 700 parliamentarians and church leaders gathered in Westminster Hall for inspirational words in prose, poetry and song, focused on the theme: “God in the public square?”

In 2022 the words shared at the breakfast led to the then health secretary, Sajid Javid, resigning from Boris Johnson’s government, following the suspension of Christopher Pincher. Javid was provoked by the address’s call to “serve the interests of others above your own”. A week later the prime minister stepped down, following a wave of resignations. The breakfast’s emphasis on the importance of integrity in public life was the catalyst for change.

Events following this year’s gathering seemed almost as seismic. On 26 June, faced with a “reasoned amendment” backed by 163 MPs – myself included – to withdraw the welfare bill, the government conceded that current claimants of the personal independence payment (Pip) would be protected from new, harsher eligibility criteria. But now the sequencing of the bill made no sense at all, with the Timms Review into the criteria reporting after decisions had been made. So, another “reasoned amendment” was determined.

I met with disabled people to get their views; they agreed. The weekend filled with frantic correspondence between colleagues, people with lived experience and carers, while the media sensed this battle was far from over. I wrote to everyone I could to try to halt the bill’s progress. We decided that this amendment should be led by deaf and disabled people’s organisations and charities: 138 signed up in one day, with MPs from across the House following suit to show solidarity.

The power shift

As I boarded my train from York to London on Monday morning, 30 June, a local disability rights activist shouted: “Fight on!” My mind was made up. Later that day, I laid the amendment. But the government was determined to press on and ignore the “noises off” – as the Prime Minister dismissively labelled warnings from backbenchers.

Just moments before the debate commenced the following day, I learned that the reasoned amendment in my name had been selected by the Speaker and would therefore lead the debate. As I spoke in the House, I felt the power shift from the front to the back benches, and – most importantly – from parliament to the country, as 16 million sick and disabled people had their agency restored.

Legislation disintegration

In the debating chamber, their stories were told, the impact highlighted, the harm warned of: speech after speech took down the bill. Meanwhile, MPs were summoned out of the chamber and talks intensified. My colleagues were resolute: they would not trade their vote on the backs of sick and disabled people. As the case for the bill disintegrated, the atmosphere was tense.

Just 90 minutes before the end of the debate, the disabilities minister, Stephen Timms, declared that the bill was to be torn in two: changes to Pip would only be made after his review of the whole system concludes next year. Complete chaos encircled the chamber as MPs sought clarity, but there was no time for answers before crucial votes were cast. My phone buzzed with journalists trying to get a grip on the situation. I rose to move my amendment, and while I knew the whips’ hand had won the vote, it was clear the government had lost the argument. The welfare bill was in tatters, although £2bn in cuts remain.

Engage or retreat?

What happened last Tuesday, on 1 July, was more significant than a policy climb-down. Power shifted. Keir Starmer’s government was forced to recognise that autocracy is no way to rule: power is given by consent and can equally be taken away. If our leaders do not first build consensus, they have no authority at all.

The government’s approach stood in direct contrast with what I saw in my constituency at the weekend. At the Joseph Rowntree Homestead Park Festival, deliberative democracy and inclusion were on full display, as thousands of residents were creatively engaged in a process of hoping and planning for a better future for themselves and the country.

The government now stands at a crossroads. Does it engage or retreat behind the barricades of Downing Street? After a year in office, Starmer’s government must surely have learnt that power is precious and, as the prayer breakfast emphasised, how we engage with the public square matters.