Cutting benefits is ‘not a Labour thing to do’, says Diane Abbott

Abbott warned that over time, many voters would look at policies such as cuts to benefits ‘and think: is this my Labour party?’ Photograph: Thabo Jaiyesimi/Sopa Images/Rex/Shutterstock

Cutting benefits for disabled people is “not a Labour thing to do”, Diane Abbott has said, as a backlash grows within the party over a planned overhaul of the welfare system that could mean hundreds of thousands of claimants lose money.

Abbott, the party’s longest-serving MP, warned that over time, many voters would look at policies such as cuts to benefits “and think: is this my Labour party?”