Labour has quietly scrapped a key Conservative reform aimed at clamping down on Britain’s booming ‘sick note culture’, despite record-high numbers of people off work due to long-term illness.
The Tories’ plan, championed by Rishi Sunak, was designed to take power away from GPs when signing people off work and instead hand it to specialist work and health professionals.
But Keir Starmer’s Government has now axed the plan, caving to union pressure.
WORKING BRITS LEFT TO FOOT THE BILL
The number of fit notes – the official term for sick notes – has soared in recent years, doubling from 5 million in 2015 to 11 million in 2022. That’s helped drive up the number of Brits deemed too sick to work to a record 2.8 million in 2024 – up from 2 million before Covid.
This explosion in worklessness is costing taxpayers tens of billions every year, forcing hard-working Brits to prop up an ever-growing welfare bill. But instead of tackling the crisis, Labour has binned reforms before they even began.
LABOUR QUIETLY KILLS REFORM – WITH NO ALTERNATIVE
The scrapping of the plans was confirmed in a written response to a Parliamentary question this week. Baroness Sherlock, a Labour minister in the House of Lords, bluntly admitted:
“The Government has no current plans to reform the fit note (Statement of Fitness for Work) in terms of the content of the form or the healthcare professionals who are legally allowed to issue them.”
A DWP spokesperson later confirmed it was the first time the Government had publicly admitted it was scrapping the plans.
STARVES STARVES OFF UNION BACKLASH – WHILE TAXPAYERS SUFFER
The British Medical Association (BMA), the trade union representing doctors, had attacked Sunak’s plan, accusing the Tories of “hostile rhetoric” towards sick note claimants. Now, just months into office, Starmer has once again bowed to union pressure—just like when he handed train drivers and junior doctors above-inflation pay rises to end strikes.
Critics are now fuming that the Labour leader is more interested in keeping union bosses happy than tackling the spiralling welfare bill.
TORIES SLAM LABOUR FOR ‘CAPITULATION’
Former Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately tore into Labour for gutting the reforms:
“Changing how fit notes work is essential to getting the benefits bill down.
“But despite Labour talking tough in public, in private they’ve capitulated to the unions and canned our plans. This is bad news for taxpayers, and it’s also bad news for people being written off under the current system.
“Getting the welfare bill down requires tough decisions, but in seven months in office Labour have achieved absolutely nothing.”
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Labour ministers insist they still want to help people back to work and have announced eight ‘trailblazer’ sites to test new ideas. Three of those will look at how fit notes are used, but no details have been given on how or when these changes will happen.
A DWP spokesperson said Labour had “inherited a broken welfare system” and would be unveiling a Green Paper in the spring on overhauling health and disability benefits. But with no concrete action, critics say Starmer’s dithering is just kicking the can down the road.
One thing is clear – the bill for long-term sickness is soaring, and Labour is letting it happen.
SOARING SICK NOTES, SOARING COSTS – BUT STARMEER DOES NOTHING
With 2.8 million Brits now classed as too ill to work, and billions of pounds draining from the Treasury, the question remains: will Labour ever act – or just keep caving to the unions?
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