Keir Starmer forced into dramatic climbdown to pass welfare reform bill | Welfare

Keir Starmer has been forced to abandon the central plank of his welfare bill to get it past its first Commons hurdle, with a dramatic climbdown that ultimately saw disability benefit cuts dropped to avert a major Labour rebellion.

After a week of chaos that has left the prime minister’s political authority badly damaged, Labour MPs were finally won over by a commitment to shelve plans for deep cuts to personal independence payments (Pip).

But while the controversial bill passed its second reading, the saga has exposed tensions between No 10 and Labour backbenchers and created a huge headache for Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, who will now have to find a further £2.5bn of savings at her autumn budget.

It also raised serious questions about the government’s handling of the welfare…