The Tories will look to lay amendments to the legislation – set to be renamed the Universal Credit Bill – and party leader Mrs Badenoch is due to deliver a speech on welfare on Thursday. Among the amendments the Conservatives will propose is a requirement for eligibility for Pip to be determined by a face-to-face meeting, rather than virtually. In her welfare speech, Mrs Badenoch is expected to say that the Conservatives are “the only party that is prepared to take the tough decisions to get spending under control”. On Friday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves admitted that the fallout over the Government’s welfare Bill had been “damaging” and did not rule out tax rises in the autumn budget. In an interview with The Guardian, Ms Reeves said it would be “irresponsible” to rule out the idea of tax rises and warned “there are costs to what happened” with the welfare Bill.
