Jeremy Corbyn has said Sir Keir Starmer’s benefit cuts are a “disgrace” and demanded the government “think again”.
Speaking to Sky News’ Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge, the former Labour leader accused the prime minister of imposing austerity on the country and warned many of his ex-colleagues are “very upset”.
Politics Live: Chancellor sent clear message in new poll – as Farage brands protester ‘a saddo’
It comes ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s spring statement on Wednesday, when she is expected to announce further spending cuts after slashing the welfare budget by £5bn last week.
Mr Corbyn said he would like to see Ms Reeves “think again” about the cut to personal independence payments (PIP), warning it will push more people into poverty and force others to give up jobs so they can look after them – “usually women and families”.
The now independent MP called for a wealth tax on society’s richest to raise money – something three quarters of the British public would support, according to a new YouGov poll.
He called the Labour Party in government an “enormous disappointment”, adding: “I never thought I’d hear the day when a chancellor would get up and say they’re taking five billion pounds out of the income of the very poorest disabled people in our society. It is a disgrace.”
Politics latest: It’s spring statement eve – and new polling suggests almost everyone is pessimistic
JD Vance even less popular with Brits than Donald Trump, new polls shows
Thousands of new homes to be built across England in £2bn plan announced by chancellor
The government has argued that welfare reforms are necessary because of the unsustainable cost of long-term sickness and disability benefits, with other measures announced to get more people back into work.
However, Ms Reeves has faced criticism as she is looking to make up about £10bn in lost fiscal headroom to balance the books, following global instability and poor economic growth since her October budget.
She is expected to announce the biggest departmental spending cuts to Whitehall in years in the spring statement, arguing this is necessary for efficiency.
The government has repeatedly denied that it is returning to austerity. Other recent “efficiency savings” it has announced include abolishing NHS England and axing 10,000 jobs in the civil service.
‘Return to austerity’
But Mr Corbyn said while “the word austerity will not be passing lips of any ministers tomorrow” that is the reality of the situation.
He said: “If you’re saying you’re going to take figures – I’ve heard 7%, I’ve heard other figures – out of the department’s budget, what does that mean?
“You can’t do all that by efficiency. That means jobs being lost, or it means services being cut, or it means both.”
Asked if he called that austerity, he said: “Yes, I do, because it is basically a role of austerity in reducing the levels of public expenditure at the expense of the poorest within our society.”
‘Labour MPs upset’
Mr Corbyn said Labour MPs who “initially weren’t keen” on talking to him after his election to parliament as an independent MP are now telling him they are “very upset” – and urged them to speak out rather than “pass the buck”.
It was put to him that his time as Labour leader resulted in the party’s worst election defeat in decades, and ministers may say if he is unhappy then they are doing something right.
But Mr Corbyn said if Sir Keir “cared to look again at the manifesto on which he stood” in 2019 there was a “clear plan” to address homelessness, rent levels and poverty in society.
Follow our channel and never miss an update
He said the prime minister seems to have “distanced himself” from those policies nowadays, but would not be drawn on whether he thought he was a chameleon.
Mr Corbyn said: “There’s a lot of chameleons in parliament. It is about how a government should approach the society we’re living in.
“If you’re content with the levels of poverty… that’s your view. I’m not. I don’t believe most Labour MPs are happy with that. So they should recognize that this is their opportunity to do something fundamental. It seems to me they’re trying to pass the buck.”
You can watch the interview in full on the Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge at 7pm.
