LONDON (AP) 鈥� British won a key vote in Parliament Tuesday on his plans to trim , but only after diluting the measures to ease intense opposition from within his own party.
In something of a hollow victory, the bill passed its first big House of Commons hurdle by 335 votes to 260 after the government appeased Labour Party rebels by softening and delaying cuts to welfare benefits for disabled people. Even so, 49 Labour lawmakers voted against the bill.
The result is a major blow to Starmer鈥檚 authority as he approaches one year in office, reckoning with a and rock-bottom approval ratings.
It鈥檚 a long way from the landslide of July 4, 2024, when Starmer鈥檚 center-left party took 412 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons to end 14 years of Conservative government.
Since then, Starmer has navigated the rapids of a turbulent world, winning praise for and persuading U.S. President Donald Trump to sign a easing tariffs on U.K. goods. But at home his agenda is on the rocks, as he struggles to convince British voters 鈥� and his own party 鈥� that he is delivering the change that he promised.
John Curtice, a political scientist at the University of Strathclyde, said that Starmer has had 鈥渢he worst start for any newly elected prime minister.鈥�
Rebellion over welfare reform
Reforming Britain鈥檚 ballooning welfare system 鈥� and cutting the cost 鈥� is a key Starmer pledge, but an attempt to trim disability benefits caused consternation among Labour lawmakers.
Many balked at plans to raise the threshold for the payments by requiring a more severe physical or mental disability, a move the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank estimated would cut the income of 3.2 million people by 2030.
After more than 120 Labour lawmakers said they would vote against the bill 鈥� more than enough to defeat it 鈥� the government offered concessions, including a guarantee that no one currently getting benefits will be affected by the change.
But opposition continued, with a string of Labour lawmakers speaking against the bill in Parliament. One, Rachel Maskell, called the cuts 鈥淒ickensian.鈥�
鈥淭hey are far from what this Labour Party is for: a party to protect the poor,鈥� she said.
Less than two hours before Tuesday's vote the government backed down further. It pledged that changes to benefits would not be made until after a review, carried out with the help of disability groups.
鈥淭his is an absolute shambles," said Labour lawmaker Ian Lavery, branding the much-altered legislation "a hodgepodge of a bill that means nothing to nobody.鈥�
The welfare U-turn is the third time in a few weeks that the government has changed course under pressure. In May, it dropped a plan to end for millions of retirees. In June, Starmer announced a after pressure from opposition politicians 鈥� and .
鈥淚t鈥檚 a failure of leadership for a prime minister with such a big majority to not be able to get their agenda through,鈥� said Rob Ford, professor of politics at the University of Manchester. He said the government had forgotten the 鈥渇irst rule of politics: You need to know how to count.鈥�
The U-turns also make it harder for the government to invest in public services without raising taxes. The government estimated that its welfare reforms would save 5 billion pounds ($7 billion) a year. Now it's unclear whether it will save any money at all.
Tuesday's vote means lawmakers have approved the bill in principle. It faces more scrutiny, and potentially more opposition, before becoming law.
Starmer acknowledges errors
The government argues that it has achieved much in its first year: It has raised the minimum wage, strengthened workers鈥� rights, launched new social housing projects and pumped money into the state-funded health system.
But inflation remains stubbornly high and economic growth low, frustrating efforts to ease the cost of living. Starmer鈥檚 personal approval ratings are approaching those of , who lasted just 49 days in office in 2022.
Starmer has blamed Conservative governments for the need to make tough choices, a downbeat argument that has done little to make Starmer popular.
In recent days, Starmer has acknowledged mistakes. He told The Sunday Times that he was 鈥渉eavily focused on what was happening with NATO and the Middle East,鈥� while the welfare rebellion was brewing at home, and should have acted sooner to win over colleagues.
UK politics in flux
Starmer鈥檚 struggles are all the more striking, because the opposition Conservative Party had its worst-ever election result in 2024, reduced to only 121 lawmakers.
But U.K. politics is in unpredictable flux. A big chunk of Conservative support 鈥� and some of Labour鈥檚 鈥� shifted in this spring's to Reform U.K., a hard-right party led by veteran political pressure-cooker .
Reform regularly comes out on top in opinion polls. If the shift continues, it could end a century of dominance by the two big parties.
Starmer鈥檚 key asset at the moment is time. He doesn't have to call an election until 2029.
鈥淭here鈥檚 still plenty of time to turn things around,鈥� Ford said. But he said that the Labour lawmakers鈥� rebellion 鈥渨ill make things harder going forward, because it鈥檚 not like this is the end of difficult decisions that he鈥檚 going to have to make.
鈥淏arring some magical unexpected economic boom 鈥� there鈥檚 going to be a hell of a lot more fights to come,鈥� he said.
Jill Lawless, The Associated Press
