Why I rebelled over welfare - Labour MP, Henry Tufnell

Labour welfare rebel Henry Tufnell is the first MP in the hot seat at WLHQ… 

There’s been no breaks to the psychodrama of UK politics since 2016. We can’t be the only ones who are feeling completely exhausted.

This week the government had to climb down from its proposal for welfare reform which targeted the UC + PIP bill (benefits) which has ballooned since COVID and is projected to double over the course of this parliament.

Critics of the bill said it would target the most vulnerable. Many economists said it was absolutely necessary.

If you want to know what’s really going on here, who better to ask than one of the signatories to the amendment that killed the bill?

Let’s not cap, this has been an incredibly challenging week for the Starmer-Reeves premiership. Most of the country is ever more confused about the direction of travel. And there is clearly a disconnect between number 10 and the backbenches.

So how do we solve this seemingly intractable problem?


We need to find a way to unite, a story that offers a solution to the deep rot we can sense in our communities – a new social contract, perhaps.


More questions than answers, and ever more pressing a time to help us figure out what’s left.