8 hours ago
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It has been a achy week to watch.
A U-turn successful dilatory motion, culminating successful a midnight climbdown arsenic Number 10 agreed to concede to defiant MPs connected Thursday night.
The concessions are considerable. They mean, among different compromises, that existing claimants of idiosyncratic independency payments (PIP) and the wellness facet of Universal Credit volition beryllium protected from payment reforms.
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Some MPs, similar Diane Abbott and Nadia Whittome, stay unconvinced, but they were ne'er precocious connected the database of rebels the authorities expected to persuade.
Ministers present anticipation that with the backing of MPs similar Dame Meg Hillier, the seat of the Treasury Select Committee, the measure volition walk the Commons.
Their problems won't extremity there, though.
Firstly, determination is the question of money. The Resolution Foundation estimates the concessions volition outgo £3bn of the £5bn the chancellor hoped to prevention from the payment reforms.
The prime minister's spokesperson says the changes volition beryllium afloat funded successful the fund and determination volition beryllium nary imperishable summation successful borrowing. They won't remark connected immoderate imaginable taxation rises to plug the spread successful Rachel Reeves's finances.
The bigger cost, though, is the governmental one.
A twelvemonth ago, erstwhile Sir Keir Starmer strode into Downing Street with a thumping majority, fewer could person imagined however the past fewer days would play out.
Read more:
What volition Starmer larn from chaos?
PM: Concessions are 'common sense'
Analysis: Starmer is successful a blistery mess
More than 120 MPs, astir a 3rd of the parliamentary Labour enactment and much than the full fig of Tory MPs, publically prepared to rebel connected a flagship policy.
How did it travel to this? How did the premier minister, and the radical astir him, not spot a rebellion coming erstwhile determination had been signs MPs weren't blessed for weeks?
Those are the questions being asked by elder Labour figures down the scenes.
Sir Keir's spokesperson says the premier curate consistently engages with colleagues, and parliamentary engagement takes galore forms.
But a deficiency of engagement with backbenchers has led to the premier minister's astir damaging U-turn yet, and this week volition haunt the premier curate beyond Tuesday's crunch vote.
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