Welfare Reform

Connor Naismith Excerpts

Tuesday 18th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Liz Kendall]

Let us be honest: that is not what we are doing. I do not accept the status quo—it is miserable for people who can work, and miserable for those who cannot. That is what I want to change.

[Connor Naismith (Crewe and Nantwich) (Lab)]

I thank the Secretary of State for the tone that she has struck today. We are talking about people’s lives, not figures on a spreadsheet, and I hope to see that reflected in the delivery of these plans.

Disabled people’s trust in the system is low following 14 years of a failed punitive approach by the Conservative party, and speculation in recent days has left my constituents feeling fearful. What assurances can the Secretary of State give that those with the most severe disabilities—those who are genuinely unable to work—will be no worse off under these plans?

[Liz Kendall]

I can absolutely give that commitment. Many hon. Members have raised the issue of culture, which is about how people feel they have been treated and the headlines that they see in the papers. It is really important that we change that. I know that we cannot do so overnight, but the entire team in the DWP—our Ministers and officials—want to change things so that we can get people on a pathway to success.

Oral Answers to Questions

Connor Naismith Excerpts

Monday 16th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Liz Kendall]

I believe that sport, as well as art and culture, can play a huge role in engaging and inspiring people, helping them on the pathway to skills, confidence and jobs. I want to see that provision enhanced in future, because we are determined to have that at the national partnership level, and it needs to happen locally, too, to get people working and earning again.

[Connor Naismith (Crewe and Nantwich) (Lab)]

15. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce the number of people in low-paid work.

[The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Liz Kendall)]

Our plan to get Britain working is crucial to tackling low pay and increasing living standards in every corner of the country. When only one in six people ever fully escape low pay, the Labour party believes that is not good enough, so our new jobs and careers service, backed by £55 million of additional funding next year, will kick-start our reforms to help more people get work and get on in their work so that they boost their living standards, too.

[Connor Naismith]

Average wages in my constituency of Crewe and Nantwich—a place with a proud industrial heritage—lag behind the regional and national averages at just £686 a week before tax. Will the Secretary of State outline how the “Get Britain Working” White Paper will support growth as well as high-skilled, well-paid jobs in my constituency, not just the biggest cities?