Sir Keir Starmer insisted he is not facing a confidence vote next week as Labour MPs prepare to rebel over welfare cuts.
Some 108 Labour backbenchers have signed an amendment that would halt the Government’s proposed changes.
But the Prime Minister insisted on Tuesday he would “press on” despite the rebellion.
Speaking in The Hague, where he is attending a Nato summit, Sir Keir also dismissed the suggestion that the vote on his welfare Bill set for July 1 was a confidence matter.
He told Sky News: “It’s not a confidence vote. It’s a vote about reforming our welfare system.
“It isn’t working. It doesn’t help people into work. Quite the contrary, it actually makes it harder for people to go into work. I think most colleagues do accept the case for reform, we’ve got to get on and make that reform.”
Meanwhile Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall, who has already agreed to soften the impact of the welfare Bill, is locked in talks with backbenchers as she seeks to win over those opposed to the plans.
The size of the rebellion is enough to threaten Sir Keir’s majority and defeat the Government’s plans if opposition MPs sided with the backbenchers.
But on Monday, Kemi Badenoch would not reveal whether her party would vote for or against the proposals.
The amendment was published on Tuesday’s order paper and calls for a pause allowing for further scrutiny of the Bill and for support to be in place before any further cuts are made.
Asked whether he would consider pausing his plans in light of the rebellion, the Prime Minister told reporters travelling with him to the Nato summit in the Netherlands: “We were elected to change what is broken in our country.
“The welfare system is broken and that’s why we will press ahead with our reforms.”
He added that there was “a clear moral case” for the changes, with 1,000 people per day going onto personal independence payments (Pip).
Today, I have co-signed an amendment with over 100 of my colleagues that would stop the welfare reform proposals from becoming law.
— Josh Fenton-Glynn MP (@JoshFG) June 24, 2025
I want to be clear this is not a decision I have taken lightly. In eight years as a councillor and almost a year as an MP, I have not broken the… pic.twitter.com/R7PyWQi6y9
Sir Keir said: “The additions to Pip each year are the equivalent of the population of a city the size of Leicester.
“That’s not a system that can be left unreformed, not least because it’s unsustainable and therefore you won’t have a welfare system for those that need it in the future.”
Earlier, the Prime Minister had told his Cabinet “we will reform welfare”, adding the Government must take “hard, honest choices” in a defiant message to Labour rebels.
Downing Street declined to say whether any Cabinet member expressed concern about the welfare Bill when asked by journalists on Tuesday, insisting it would “never get into details” of the high-level ministerial meeting.
The Cabinet “collectively” supports the Government’s agenda, a Downing Street spokesman said.
Several Labour select committee chairs were among those who put their name to the amendment, including Treasury committee chairwoman Dame Meg Hillier and work and pensions committee chairwoman Debbie Abrahams.
Vicky Foxcroft, the former Government whip who resigned over the welfare plans, has also signed.
(1/2) With a heavy heart, I have written to the Prime Minister to tender my resignation as a whip.
— Vicky Foxcroft (@vickyfoxcroft) June 19, 2025
Whilst I will continue to support the government in delivering the change the country so desperately needs, I cannot vote in favour of the proposed reforms to disability benefits. pic.twitter.com/GcOYNF6SLT
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle would need to select the amendment when MPs debate the legislation at its second reading.
Three other amendments also call for the Bill to be denied a second reading, one signed by Independent MPs including Jeremy Corbyn and Plaid Cymru’s MPs, another by the Green Party, and a third by the Westminster SNP cohort.
Under the proposals in the Bill, ministers will limit eligibility for the personal independence payment (Pip), the main disability payment in England, and limit the sickness-related element of universal credit (UC).
However, the legislation published last week will give existing claimants a 13-week period of financial support, including those losing eligibility to carer’s allowance, in what was seen as a bid to head off opposition.
Ministers have previously said the reforms could save up to £5 billion-a-year.
Downing Street declined to explicitly rule out offering further concessions when asked on Tuesday what would be done to reassure uneasy backbenchers before a vote scheduled for next week.
“We’ll talk to them over the next week but the Government believes this is a good package of reforms,” a Number 10 spokesman said.
“We hope that colleagues will engage positively over the next few days.”
Number 10 said the Government recognised the “strength of feeling” surrounding the issue but rejected suggestions the plans were “dead on arrival”.
It declined to say whether it was confident that the Bill would make its way through Parliament when asked by reporters on Tuesday.
“We are focused on delivering last week’s Bill and engaging, talking to colleagues … as to why this reform is so important,” the spokesman said.
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