Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed his Government will water down its proposed cuts to Britain's ballooning benefits bill.
The Prime Minister, who was pushing for a £5billion cut to welfare spending by slashing Personal Independence Payments and Universal Credit, completed an enormous climbdown just days after dismissing 120 Labour rebels as being "noises off".
In the early hours of Friday morning, Downing Street admitted that Starmer was making three major concessions to prevent the biggest rebellion of his premiership.
A No10 spokesman said: "We have listened to MPs who support the principle of reform but are worried about the pace of change for those already supported by the system.
"The package will preserve the social security system for those who need it by putting it on a sustainable footing, provide dignity for those unable to work, supports those who can and reduce anxiety for those currently in the system.
"Our reforms are underpinned by Labour values and our determination to deliver the change the country voted for last year."
In a letter setting out the Prime Minister's concessions, Work & Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall told Labour MPs that the Government will still provide Pip unchanged for all current claimants.
Kendall added that all new claims made after November 2026 will face new eligibility requirements.
READ IN FULL:Keir Starmer set capitulate to Labour rebels as PM makes 'major concessions' over welfare cuts
Sir Keir Starmer
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The Leicester West MP added that all existing recipients of the Universal Credit's health element and any new claimant meeting a strict conditions criteria will also have their incomes fully protected in real terms.
A third concession centres around guaranteeing that the Government would conduct a ministerial review of the Pip assessment.
In her letter, Kendall concluded: "At the heart of this review will be co-production with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and MPs so their views and voices are heard."
More than 120 Labour MPs had been poised to rebel against Starmer over his previous measures to strip Pip from some 800,000 people, sparking fears of a confidence vote and perhaps even a leadership contest.
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Liz KendallPAThe reasoned amendment was signed by 126 backbench Labour MPs, including Vicky Foxcroft who resigned from her post as a Government Whip to oppose the previous proposed cuts.
Leading Labour rebel Dame Meg Hillier, who chairs the Treasury Select Committee, handed the Prime Minister a boost this morning by describing Starmer's concessions as "good and workable".
Following hours of negotiations, Hillier said: "This is a good and workable compromise and shows that the Labour Government has listened and that working together with Labour MPs can move forward to support vulnerable disabled people, reform the welfare system in a just and inclusive way and contribute towards the economic growth and prosperity this country so desperately needs."
Despite appearing to stave off an authority-challenging rebellion, the Prime Minister will likely still need to deal with a number of disgruntled backbenchers from the left of the Labour Party.
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Dame Meg Hillier speaking during the debate of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
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Norwich South MP Clive Lewis, who served as Shadow Defence Secretary under Jeremy Corbyn, said: "Every MP will have to weigh up the deal for themselves.
"Alas, this smacks of a face saving exercise more than it does doing right by my sick and disabled constituents. No impact assessment. No co-production with disabled groups. No deal. I’ll still be voting against."
Richard Burgon, who sits as a member of the Socialist Campaign Group and briefly lost the Labour whip after rebelling over the two-child benefit cap last summer, added: "These changes may make a very bad Bill less awful.
"But the vast majority of cuts remain and it still forces hundreds of thousands into poverty.
VOTE NOW: Was the Prime Minister right to capitulate to Labour welfare rebels?
Labour MP for Leeds East, Richard Burgon, speaks during a protest in Whitehall, London, during the nurses strikePA"Nowhere near good enough. I'll vote against the Bill. The Government shouldn't be balancing the books on the backs of disabled people."
Meanwhile, Tory Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride last night described Starmer's U-turn as a sign of "weakness".
He said: “If confirmed this is the latest in a growing list of screeching u-turns from this weak Labour Government.
"Under pressure from his own MPs Starmer has made another completely unfunded spending commitment."
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Shadow Chancellor Mel StrideGETTYShadow Work & Pensions Secretary Helen Whately added: “This is another humiliating u-turn forced upon Keir Starmer
“With the sickness benefits bill set to reach £100billion by 2030 the country needs action. But Labour has lurched from a bad plan to a next-to-nothing plan.
“The latest ‘deal’ with Labour rebels sounds a lot like a two-tier benefits system, more likely to encourage anyone already on benefits to stay there rather than get into work.
“We made a serious offer to Keir Starmer in the national interest if he was willing to grip the challenge of getting the welfare bill down and more people into work - making savings to avoid putting up taxes. But instead, he's done yet another U-turn.”
Critics also warn that the spotlight being placed on No10's U-turn shenanigans will mean that the Prime Minister faces fury for pursuing controversial policies while exhausting significant political capital.
Rebels were said to have become emboldened by the Prime Minister's previous U-turns, including on Winter Fuel Payments.
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