Lords defeat Govt welfare reforms that 'rob the poor'

However the government has vowed to press ahead with the process and reverse the amendments when the Welfare Reform Bill returns to the House of Commons. Peers rejected plans to means-test Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) payments for disabled people after only a year. They also defeated proposals to time-limit ESA for those undergoing cancer treatment and to restrict access to the benefit for young people with disabilities or illness. The proposals were branded as morally wrong by Lord Patel, a crossbencher, who said: "If we are going to rob the poor to pay the rich, then we...