Chris Kane, who was elected to represent Stirling and Strathallan last year, voted with the Labour Government in support of their proposed changes to the welfare system.
The bill, which passed 355 to 260 votes, has been under scrutiny for past weeks due to its proposed cuts to disability benefits, Personal Independence Payments (PIP).
The changes to the proposed bill that Labour eventually had to give into included making all existing PIP claimants exempt from possible cuts, and a consultation into PIP payments will be “co-produced” by disabled people as well as experts, according to Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall.
The reasoned amendment regarding the bill proposed that the House of Commons dropped the bill as 120 supporting MPs “declined” a second reading of it. The amendment claimed that the bill would push 250,00 people into poverty, 50,000 of those being children according to the Governments own impact assessment.
Additionally, proposed changes had not been subject to a formal consultation with disabled people and organisations. This amendment to stop the second reading failed, with only 149 Ayes.
Chris Kane voted against this amendment that would have stopped the bill’s second reading from occurring all together, and voted the Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill, which passed with 355 votes and only 49 Labour MPs rebelling.
The bill now having passed its second reading is now due to go to its Committee Stage, before a Report Stage and a Third Reading.
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