Markus Andrews

Keir Starmer has suffered a serious blow after dozens of his own MPs voted against his planned welfare reforms in Parliament. The prime minister had been forced into two humiliating U-turns on the legislation in less than a week to head off a revolt that threatened to defeat his government on one of its flagship policies. But how does this compare to previous revolts by politicians? It is the largest rebellion of Sir Keir’s premiershipAccording to political scientist Professor Philip Cowley, from Queen Mary University of London, who has done a comparison of previous votes, it was the largest backbench rebellion Starmer has suffered so far. The previous record holder was earlier this month during the passage of the planning and infrastructure bill, when 16 MPs rebelled. A smaller revolt last year, over the controversial two-child benefit cap, saw a number of Labour MPs stripped of the party whip – including Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow chancellor John McDonnell.Sir Tony Blair with Sir Keir Starmer (Stefan Rousseau/PA) More

Ahead of the welfare reform bill vote, a frustrated minister privately questioned the whole approach to the painful debate.“We are spending an extra £20bn on welfare [compared with the last government], we are not cutting it by £5bn but somehow everyone believes we are cutting it by £5bn,” they said. “There is clearly a problem with messaging.”Ahead of a damaging rebellion by Labour MPs on an issue which has pitted the parliamentary party against its own leadership, the comments reflect a widespread criticism of Sir Keir and many of his ministers.Nothing underlined the mess more than the dramatic late concession during the debate to postpone changes to disability reforms to try to stave off a humiliating defeat.One Labour MP put the prime minister’s problems more bluntly: “He is just bad at politics.”Keir Starmer in the Downing Street garden More

Welfare U-turn will cost £2.5bn by 2030, Liz Kendall tells MPsLabour MPs have branded Sir Keir Starmer’s welfare proposals as “Dickensian”, as the prime minister prepares to face a backbench rebellion this evening.MPs are debating the second reading of the government’s welfare bill ahead of a crunch vote in the Commons this evening.The bill would see changes made to personal independence payment (Pip) and the health-related element of universal credit.With the prime minister’s authority on the line, work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall confirmed a number of concessions to cuts on Monday in an effort to head off a major rebellion by Labour backbenchers.However, dozens of Labour MPs have signed an amendment proposing to sink the legislation on Tuesday.Rachael Maskell – who tabled the amendment – called the cuts, “Dickensian”, “from a different era and a different party” as she stood in the Commons on Tuesday.“These are my constituents, my neighbours, my community, my responsibility, and I cannot cross by on the other side,” she said.MPs will vote on the amendment before voting on the second reading on the bill this evening.Pictured: Protesters gather outside parliament( More

A record number of people have crossed the Channel in small boats in the first six months of this year, new figures show – despite Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to “smash the gangs”.Just days before the prime minister marks one year in office, new data from the Home Office shows a total of 19,982 people have arrived in the UK since the start of 2025 – the highest total for this point in the year since data was first collected on migrant crossings in 2018. The prime minister has been struggling to bring down both the number of boat crossings and the amount of money spent on housing asylum seekers in hotels across the UK. But he has also faced criticism from left-wing Labour MPs and refugee charities, accusing Sir Keir of attempting to copy Reform UK’s inflammatory rhetoric. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has defended his Government’s record as he faces a major revolt on welfare reforms More