Keir Starmer has narrowly won tonight's welfare vote, after a shambolic day of Labour infighting and u-turns.

The Prime Minister won the vote by 335 to 260, with dozens of furious Labour MPs voting to back an amendment that would have killed the legislation entirely.

Social Security Minister Stephen Timms sparked fury two hours before the vote when he rose to announce he would be ditching one of the central clauses of the Bill entirely during the next Commons stage. The move will delay the introduction of all changes to PIP until he has concluded a wider review in lockstep with disability groups.

No changes to PIP will now go ahead until at least August 2026, and the total savings hoped for by Rachel Reeves will be slashed yet again.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said ahead of the vote that the final u-turn by Keir Starmer left the benefits bill "pointless".

She blasted: "Labour's welfare bill is now a TOTAL waste of time. It effectively saves £0, helps no one into work, and does NOT control spending."

"It's pointless. They should bin it, do their homework, and come back with something serious. Starmer cannot govern."

A wrecking amendment by backbencher Rachel Maskell won significant support, but failed to defeat Sir Keir's enormous majority. With 42 Labour MPs voting for it, it was the PM's biggest Commons rebellion since winning the election last year.

Speaking during the vote, veteran Labour MP Ian Lavery told the BBC: "What we saw today was basically a Bill by Whatsapp."

"About 3.5 hours into the debate today the minister intervened to make an announcement of a huge major concession. I've been an MP for 15 years - I've never seen anything like this in my life."

"It's not fit for purpose!"

During the debate, Labour MP Paula Barker condemned today's farce as "the most unedifying spectacle I have ever seen".

Ms Barker said: "We are voting tonight on the Bill as it stands on the order paper, not as amended. And I'm really really sorry to say this, but when it's not written down it's not worth the paper it's written on."

Closing the debate before the vote, Minister Stephen Timms faced ridicule after he was unable to clarify how much the Bill will now save from the total benefits spend by taxpayers.

Rachel Reeves initially banked on securing £5 billion of savings a year, however the PM's major concessions last week shaved it down to £3 billion.

Today's concession to remove PIP from the bill entirely leaves the Chancellor with an even bigger fiscal black hole to fill at the October Budget, sparking widespread fears she will have to plug the gap with manifesto-breaking tax rises.

Speaking after the vote, Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride said today's rushed welfare changes are a consequence of Rachel Reeves "running out of money".

He told the BBC: "I think it just shows a government that has rushed a welfare reform for the wrong reasons because Rachel Reeves has been running out of money, she's been taxing and spending like there's no tomorrow, and we're seeing the results here today."