Phil Graham

THERE was heckling in the Town Hall last week as a motion asking Islington Council to write to the government opposing the disability benefit reforms was shot down by Labour councillors.

The Green-led opposition asked the chamber to urge the prime minister, the chancellor, and other ministers “to withdraw proposals for future PIP cuts”, following the revised Welfare Reform Bill passing its second reading in Parliament.

They also proposed that the leader of the council express support for a wealth tax to the chancellor and “advocate for increased financial support for local authorities with pressure in their social care budgets”.

But a mistake in the motion, where the authors had referred to constituents in Plymouth rather than Islington, led to allegations that the opposition had little allegiance to Upper Street and were “lazy” and “unserious”.

Cllr Diarmaid Ward said: “Since I last spoke in this chamber, I have made a journey from the front bench to join my colleagues on the back benches. The Green-led opposition have gone on a much longer journey – they appear to have moved to Plymouth.”

He added: “They don’t care about Upper Street, that’s why all we get are these hodge-podge, back of the envelope, copy and paste motions aimed at Downing Street.”

His sentiments were seconded by Cllr Flora Williamson, the Town Hall’s finance chief, who said: “It is disappointing that the opposition doesn’t seem to care enough about Islington residents to even know where they are representing or to change the town’s name in their cut and paste motion. This is the worst sort of party political point scoring from the Greens and the independents, or should I call you the copy and paste party.”

Cllr Phil Graham, who had proposed the motion, replied: “You’re Labour, we’re all supposed to be socialists, do not attack the most vulnerable in society. I’m begging you. [We] can tell the government this isn’t right.”

Tensions were running high as he was interrupted on multiple occasions by one backbench councillor who accused him of living in “fantasy land.”

Cllr Benali Hamdache, who leads the Greens, said: “It should be a deep, deep stain on this Labour government’s record that they decided that they were going to try and balance the books off the backs of hardworking people.”

He added: “If our biggest sin is a typo, then I will take it, because your government has cut the health-related element of universal credit by £206 a month. Disabled people in this borough deserve better, and they deserve for you to seriously engage with that rather than [saying] ‘Plymouth, Plymouth, Plymouth’.”

An amended motion, in which almost every line had been changed, was passed. The Town Hall resolved to work with the government on their “Pathways to Work consultation”, raise concerns that PIP is linked to other benefits, and work with disabled people and local organisations.

It said the council would also “continue to lobby government for fairer funding of local authorities.”