One of the ringleaders of a major welfare rebellion by Labour MPs that tore a hole in the government's economic plans has said they are now ready to back benefit cuts.Dame Meg Hillier said opinions in the parliamentary Labour Party were now 'worlds apart' from where they were last year, when Sir Keir Starmer had to abandon plans to cut disability handouts.The furore, at a time when those getting cash for ill-health is at an all-time high in England, caused serious damage to Sir Keir's authority and the party's standings in the polls. Data from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) revealed there were 3.93 million claimants entitled to Personal Independent Payment (PIP) as of January this year in England and Wales, up by 233,080, or 6 per cent, from 3.69 million a year earlier.But Dame Meg, the chairwoman of the Treasury Committee, said that a government report released last month into Neets - young adults who are not in employment, education or training - that had been a 'game-changer' for reluctant MPs and the need for reform was now accepted.The investigation by former health secretary Alan Milburn found that up to one in six people aged 16-24 - around 1.25 million - could be Neets by 2031 under the current trajectory.Dame Meg told the i Paper she would still want 'really clear guarantees' that people with life-long health problems and disabilities would not lose out, but added: 'Conditionality is not necessarily a bad thing if it's done right.' 'We know sanctions don't work. But particularly for that young cohort, getting them into a rhythm and pattern and work experience is something that's necessary.'Her intervention comes amid a major government row over how to fund an uptick in defence spending to improve the UK's struggling Armed Forces. Dame Meg Hillier said opinions in the parliamentary Labour Party were now 'worlds apart' from where they were last year, when Sir Keir Starmer had to abandon plans to cut disability handouts.