Its Simply Wrong: Hartlepool MP Signs Amendment Opposing Welfare Cuts...

Hartlepool MP Jonathan Brash one of over 100 MP's set to rebel against the government over controversial cuts to disability support...

24th June 2025

Hartlepool MP Jonathan Brash is said to be among more than 100 MPs preparing to rebel against the government’s plans to slash disability benefits – proposals that campaigners say would devastate the lives of thousands across the country.

The Government’s proposals to cut millions from the welfare budget by slashing Personal Independence Payments (PIP) – has been put forward following claims the benefits system is "ballooning out of control", but disability advocates and MPs from across the UK have slammed the plans as inhumane and reckless.

The rebellion has reportedly put Labour MP Brash in a politically tight spot. After only just clawing back the Hartlepool seat for Labour back in 2024 – following labours disastrous 2021 by-election to Conservatives Jill Mortimer – Brash now faces an uphill battle to maintain public support in a town thats now said to be heavily leaning its support towards Reform UK. And with Hartlepool suffering under some of the highest levels of poverty and disability in the UK, locals are said to be no longer in the mood for any more political betrayals.

Brash, a former councillor for Hartlepool Borough Council, represents a town where Council Tax is disproportionately-high against that of the rest of the country, yet boasts some of the highest numbers of people claiming disability support. Only Middlesbrough ranks worse when it comes to poverty indicators, where its claimed cuts to disability support here would have real and brutal consequence for thousands of locals.

On social media, Mr Brash Stated:

“The Government is right to want people off benefits and into work. Work is good for us, and if you can work, you should. The state should support those in genuine need, not carry those who can support themselves. But cutting support for disabled people – which the Government’s own assessment says will push 250,000 people into poverty, including 50,000 children – is simply wrong.”

This rebellion could be the trigger for the Labour Government’s first major defeat in Parliament, with even Conservative MPs hinting they’ll refuse to back the plans when they're set to be put to a vote next week. If that happens, it’ll be yet another embarrassing climbdown for a government already battered by internal divisions and public anger, as well as questions over just how much longer Keir Starmer can hang on as Prime Minister.

Local supporters of Brash say he’s made the right call – pointing out that 15 years of Tory austerity gutted Hartlepool, with many believing Hartlepool simply cannot afford another round of austerity, especially not ones targeting its most vulnerable residents....