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Prime Minister Keir Starmer will on Monday unveil a renewed attempt to overhaul the UK’s social security system after rebels within his own party blocked previous proposals last summer.
His speech — excerpts of which were released by Downing Street — follows last week’s budget, which introduced higher taxes to help ease the cost-of-living crisis.
Although the markets broadly welcomed the budget, the Conservative opposition delivered sharp criticism.
The Conservatives have accused Chancellor Rachel Reeves of misrepresenting the state of the public finances ahead of the budget, an allegation she firmly rejected in interviews on Sunday.
Opinion polls indicate that Labour is struggling on several fronts, including concerns that the government has not done enough to stimulate economic growth.
Against this backdrop, Starmer will defend his economic strategy and revisit the issue of welfare reform.
“We must face the reality that our welfare state is trapping people not only in poverty but also out of work,” he will say.
He will confirm government investment in apprenticeships for young people, adding, “We must also reform the welfare state itself.”
Britain currently has a record number of people – many of them young – who are out of the labour market due to long-term illness.
“If you are written off simply because you are neurodivergent or disabled, you can be trapped in a cycle of unemployment and dependency for decades,” Starmer will argue.
He will say this situation “costs the country money, undermines productivity, and most importantly — wastes opportunity and potential.”
On welfare incentives, he will add, “We need to remove the barriers that hold our young people back.”
Starmer is also expected to unveil plans to ease regulations on businesses.
The government was forced to retreat from its earlier reform package last summer—which included significant cuts to sickness and disability benefits—after more than 120 Labour MPs rebelled.
Many MPs have since complained of a growing disconnect between Starmer’s leadership, focused on countering the rise of Reform UK, and Labour’s traditional centre-left values.
