The Government has been warned that as many as 200 Labour MPs could use a vote in the Commons to rebel against plans to cut benefits to lone parents.

The MPs will vote in less than two weeks at the third reading of the Social Security Bill in an attempt to derail the proposals.

The row is the most serious in Labour Party ranks since the election.

The Social Security Secretary, Harriet Harman, said there was no possibility of the Government backing down.

"These benefit cuts have been a hard choice, but they are Tory cuts and we have to implement them to stay within our manifesto commitment to keep within spending limits," she said.

Ms Harman tried to deflect the criticism by emphasising positive Labour initiatives for lone parents.

"The Green Budget is offering the largest ever investment in after-school care made by government and we are also making sure that all new lone mothers coming onto income support from April next year will have the full New Deal package available to them," she said.

Pressure has been building among Labour MPs for the policy to cut benefits to be reversed. But on Monday the Chancellor chose instead to channel £400 million of savings from EU contributions into a childcare initiative aimed at helping lone parents back to work.

The rebels

Roger Berry MP says "the Government cannot rely on us"

At a London conference on the welfare state, Labour MP, Roger Berry, who disagrees with the policy said: "There are very many of us, I would think we are talking up to 200 members of parliament on the Labour side, who are so anxious about this matter that the Government cannot rely on us to support them ... I hope we don't get to that situation."

Labour left-winger, Ken Livingstone MP, said: ""If these cuts go through they will be one of the most despicable acts ever in the history of Labour Governments ... even if my life depended on it I couldn't vote for it, and I know a lot of other Labour MPs feel the same way."

Ken Livingstone at a conference to save the welfare state

Another left-winger, Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP, Diane Abbott, said she too would not support the policy.

"I have not decided whether I will vote against or whether I will abstain, but I certainly will not vote for these cuts," she said.

Conservative Shadow Social Security Secretary, Iain Duncan-Smith said: "Labour knew, when they announced before the General Election that they would stick to Conservative spending plans, that this would mean making cuts to lone parents' benefits. Yet both Tony Blair and (Social Security Secretary) Harriet Harman publicly stated in the weeks running up to the General Election that they would not make cuts to lone parents' benefits.

"They wouldn't admit this before the General Election for fear of losing votes," he said.

Benefit cuts

The policy, which amounts to £395 million of cuts over three years, was introduced by the last Conservative Government in its final Budget.

Key points:

• New claimants will receive between £5 and £10.25 less in benefit from April than current claimants do.
• Currently lone parents receive £17.10 per week for their oldest child while couples receive £11.05. Under the proposals, lone parents will receive the same as couples.

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