# Haigh declines to set a timetable for reducing welfare spending

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/burnhams-deputy-squirms-in-commons-as-she-repeatedly-refuses-to-commit-to-benefits-cuts-before-next-election/
- Published: 2026-11-04T12:30:20+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-04T13:11:31+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16264983/Burnham-deputy-Commons-benefit-cuts-election-welfare.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: Elections, Geopolitics, Politics, World

## Key points

- Haigh gave no timetable for reducing welfare spending.
- Labour says the benefits bill will come down.
- Healey says he did not set a schedule for savings.

## Summary

Louise Haigh, standing in for the Prime Minister in the Commons, repeatedly declined to say whether or when the Government would reduce the benefits bill before the next election. The exchange followed conflicting statements from Chancellor John Healey, leaving uncertainty over Labour’s timetable and approach to welfare spending.

Haigh said the Government had already taken steps and that the bill would come down, but gave no date or spending figure. Conservative frontbencher Alex Burghart said working-age welfare spending was £183 billion this year, describing it as a record; Healey later said he had not set a timetable for savings and that the bill would not necessarily fall during this Parliament.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.