Tory MP defies Iain Duncan Smith to vote against ESA welfare cuts - and begs colleagues to join her

Writing on Mirror Online, Heidi Allen made an 11th-hour plea for colleagues to join her rebellion just hours before MPs vote on ESA cuts

Vote: Heidi Allen has told the Mirror why she will rebel against the Tory whip
A Tory MP has announced she will formally oppose her party's bid to cut sickness benefit in a passionate piece on Mirror Online.

Heidi Allen made an 11th-hour plea for colleagues to join her rebellion just hours before MPs vote on the £30-a-week slashing of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).

Iain Duncan Smith warned Tory backbenchers to support him in tonight's debate after the House of Lords twice voted to block the cuts.

A furious letter by the Work and Pensions Secretary accused peers of an "abuse of Parliamentary process" and said: "The Commons as the elected chamber must now have the final say.
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UPDATE: Tory MPs vote for ESA disability benefit cuts AGAIN despite pleas from their own side


But tonight Ms Allen broke ranks to say there is simply not enough evidence people will be protected.

And she made a coded reference to the Tory minister, writing: "To those who say the Lords are abusing the Parliamentary system, I say the system is what we make it."





Rex / Getty
Anger: Iain Duncan Smith is locked in a stand-off with the House of Lords
"I doubt members of the public care much about ping pong nor whether this affronts constitutional sensibilities," she continued.

"They just want us to make decisions that are good for this country and good for our most vulnerable citizens."
Mr Duncan Smith wants to cut sick and disabled peoples' ESA from £102.15 to £73.10 a week - equal to jobseeker's allowance - if they are deemed fit for “work-related activity”.

The cut in April 2017 will not affect existing claimants whose claims are interrupted for less than 12 weeks or those in the more severe "support group".

But the cuts have provoked a bitter stand-off between the Tory-dominated House of Commons and the House of Lords.

Peers first rejected the cut completely in January but were blocked by Tory MPs in the Commons.



Round Two came on Monday, when a powerful speech by Paralympic idol Tanni Grey-Thompson helped prompt peers to halt the cuts until a review - delaying them until 2020.

Round Three will come next week if MPs again vote for the cuts tonight. Labour sources warned their prospects of stopping the cuts were looking bleak.

The South Cambridgeshire MP previously spoke out against the ESA cuts in a "warning shot to government", but abstained instead of voting against them.

This time, she said, she intends to vote against the cuts in what will be her first full rebellion against a government welfare policy.



In her speech, sent to Mirror Online ahead of tonight's vote, she said despite anger at the cuts she still believes her party can be one of compassionate Conservatism.

She wrote: "I do not believe a pause and assessment of the proposals will unduly delay the Government’s strategy of welfare reform.

"Indeed, the Equality and Human Rights Commission have offered their staff’s time and expertise to help with such a process.

"I have said it before and I will say it again. Let’s get this right."

Why I'm opposing my own party's welfare cuts - and want colleagues to join me

By HEIDI ALLEN MP
I was always more of a numbers girl at school – so I wanted to check my understanding of two words.
Number one – Compassionate. "Empathetic, thoughtful, showing concern for others."
Number two – Conservative. "Favouring free enterprise, a person who believes in the value of established and traditional practices in politics and society."
So, a Compassionate Conservative can be both.
Progressive and free, but safeguarding of society and showing care for others.
I believe the Lords are encouraging us to be both. I am encouraging us to be both.
We ARE both.
Lord Low said on Monday night, "Lord Freud said it would be an expensive and time-consuming matter to provide the information my amendment calls for, but I would say that if the Government do not already have this kind of information they should not seek to implement such a drastic cut to ESA in the first place."
I could not put it better myself.
If it is too difficult to assess the impact of these changes, we should not be making them.
I note that the charities most worried about the proposed changes - Parkinson’s, Macmillan, Mind and Age UK to name a few - are not quoted by Ministers as being involved in these “excellent” discussions with the Department.
I do not believe a pause and assessment of the proposals will unduly delay the Government’s strategy of welfare reform.
Indeed, the Equality and Human Rights Commission have offered their staff’s time and expertise to help with such a process.
I have said it before and I will say it again. Let’s get this right.
To those who say the Lords are abusing the Parliamentary system, I say the system is what we make it.
I doubt members of the public care much about ping pong nor whether this affronts constitutional sensibilities. They just want us to make decisions that are good for this country and good for our most vulnerable citizens.
That is what I want. It is what I really care about, which is why I will be supporting the Lords amendment tonight.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tory-mp-defies-iain-duncan-7480632