Keir Starmer has been locked in talks with rebel Labour MPs.

Keir Starmer has agreed to climb down on his planned welfare cuts after reaching a deal with Labour MPs in an attempt to avoid a humiliating Commons defeat.

The prime minister was locked in talks with his rebel backbenchers for most of the day after more than 120 of them threatened to vote down the government’s controversial reforms.

Although No.10 will be relieved that they appear to have done enough to avoid losing next week’s vote, the outcome is still a massive blow to the prime minister’s authority which will also make it harder for Rachel Reeves to balance the nation’s books.

Under the initial plans, the government wanted to make it harder to claim personal independence payments (PIP) and cut the health-related element of Universal Credit.

The changes would have cut the overall welfare bill by £5 billion.

Starmer has now agreed that the changes will not affect current claimants, only those who receive the benefits in future.

In addition, the PM has also agreed that the government will spend more on employment support and........

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