Politics LIVE: Keir Starmer left broken after welfare 'clusterf***' as Labour in shambles

The Tories say that Starmer’s welfare bill collapsed in real time.

The Conservatives added: "They’ve gutted all cuts and will end up spending even more on welfare. Only Labour could try to cut costs… and spend more!"

They shared a snap of the Express's front page story today.

Welfare rebel Rachael Maskell has said there was a "transfer of power" away from the Prime Minister yesterday.

Sir Keir Starmer is set to mark one year in power on Saturday.

There will be “financial consequences” to the Government’s concessions to welfare rebels, a Cabinet minister has said.

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden indicated that the fiscal fallout will be set out at the budget expected in the autumn

He told Times Radio: “This is a decision that will have financial consequences.. The process of the last couple of weeks does have financial consequences.

“They will all be taken together with all the other moving parts that there are in the economy, in the fiscal picture at the budget, and that will be set out at the time.

“But I’m not denying that when you set out on a plan that has a cost attached to it, and then you have to change that or take it forward in slower time, that is a decision with financial consequences.”

Welfare revolt will not “be the defining story of this Government”, a Cabinet minister has said.

Pat McFadden compared Tuesday night’s backbench revolt to one under Sir Tony Blair in the 1990s, and told Times Radio: “I have been around for a long time, and I have to reflect that it’s not the first time this has happened with Labour on welfare.

“When we first came into government in 1997 we had a very similar size of rebellion on a similar issue: we had 47 Labour MPs voting against a welfare reform measure, we had 100 abstentions.

“The headline was, Blair suffers in benefits revolt and that government went on not only to reform welfare more, but to reduce child poverty, to turn around the NHS and to do a lot of other good things. So I don’t deny that this has been a difficult process over welfare reform, but it’s not the first time it’s happened, and it is not going to be the defining story of this government.”

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster also defended Sir Keir Starmer, telling the same station he is the person who has “set the direction” for the Government.

Asked whether there are issues of policy or leadership, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster said: “Keir Starmer is the leader who took the Labour Party for only the fourth time in its history from opposition to a majority Labour government.”

MPs have voted to pass Sir Keir Starmer's flagship welfare Bill in its first Commons hurdle. The Prime Minister was hit by an enormous Labour rebellion, despite making major concessions to angry backbenchers over the cuts ahead of the crunch vote.

Read the full list here

The former Reform MP took to Twitter, formerly X, to say the Prime Minister's authority has "entirely evaportaed".

Sir Keir Starmer came to poer just one year ago.

Wrangling with backbench MPs over welfare reforms has been a “difficult process”, a Cabinet minister has said.

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden told Times Radio: “It’s been a difficult process there’s no doubt about that, over the last couple of weeks on this.

“But we got to a position where the second reading of the bill was passed, and where in regard to the most contentious issue of reforms to the Pip regime that will now be taken forward in slower time, with my colleague, Stephen Timms, the minister in charge heading up a review of that.”

The Prime Minister and Kemi Badenoch will clash in the Commons at midday after a major government concessions on welfare last night.