Rayner refuses to rule out punishing Labour MPs who rebel over welfare cuts | Angela Rayner

Angela Rayner has refused to rule out punishing Labour MPs who vote against the government’s plans to cut disability benefits in the coming weeks, as ministers prepare to publish the full details of their proposals for the first time.

The deputy prime minister defended the plans in the Commons on Wednesday during a session of prime minister’s questions in which she was deputising for Keir Starmer. She told MPs the party was pursuing the plan – which is predicted to result in 1.2 million people with disabilities losing thousands of pounds a year – in the interests of both fairness and getting people back into work.

But with dozens of Labour MPs preparing to vote against the measures, Rayner failed to deny recent reports that party bosses would remove the whip from those who rebel.