As more than 100 Labour MPs announce that they will oppose the welfare cuts, Fire Brigades Union leader Steve Wright has told Keir Starmer that he must reverse course.
He said that the party leadership would "never be forgiven" if it went ahead, and warned that the measures could rely on Tory votes to make it through parliament.
Steve Wright, Fire Brigades Union general secretary, said:
It's outrageous that the government is ploughing on regardless with welfare cuts in the face of such huge opposition among Labour MPs and the party as a whole.
It's possible that Keir Starmer will be dependent on the Commons votes of Tory MPs to pass this new wave of austerity for the most vulnerable.
That's a shameful thing for any Labour Prime Minister to do.
There's still time to abandon these cuts, which will plunge tens of thousands of working class people into poverty. The Labour movement has made it clear that Keir Starmer and Liz Kendall must change course.
A tax on wealth and profits is urgently needed to fund public services and pay workers properly.
But if the Prime Minister insists on pressing on with this assault on the welfare state, the FBU demands that every Labour MP vote against the government in next week's vote.
The Labour leadership will never be forgiven by unions, party members, and many of its own MPs for inflicting these cuts on the working class.”
