It's been a massive week for news when it comes to the benefits system. Here's everything you need to know broken down.

Good afternoon. Welcome back to Survival Guide. Isabella here.

What a week. We knew the government was going to water down their plans for disability benefit cuts to win over rebels, but no one predicted ministers would make such big last-minute changes in the chamber itself right before the vote.

As one Labour MP put it, “I popped out for a banana and when I came back, things had changed again.”

The debate lasted five hours, with MPs bobbing up and down to have their feelings heard, and almost every one who spoke criticised the government’s welfare bill in some regard. It felt as though the government might, just might, be losing this.

And ministers appeared to feel it too. They introduced a final last-ditch change which meant that their personal independence payment (PIP) cuts will be paused until a review of the assessment process can be carried out.

This will be led by disability minister Stephen Timms but co-produced by disabled people and disability organisations. While the government still wants to reform the system and save money, there’s no longer any certainty that the PIP cuts will happen at all.

With this, the government managed to win the majority of votes – but it was a humiliating, shambolic process which has led to serious questions for Keir Starmer.

A total of 49 Labour MPs still voted against the welfare bill, representing the biggest rebellion the prime minister has faced to date. I chatted to some of these MPs about why they chose to vote against their own party, as well as charities and campaigners on what Labour should do about this gutted welfare bill now…

If you’ve got a story to share, we want to listen. Get in touch at isabella.mcrae@bigissue.com or share your story here.

'Butchered and rewritten on the fly'

MPs were technically voting on the bill as it was introduced and just had to trust that the promises ministers were making were going to be written in after the fact. As MP Paula Barker pointed out, “if it’s not written on paper, then it’s not worth the paper it’s written on.”

It’s now been written down as an amendment to the bill (the work and pensions secretary will drop clause five, which means dropping the PIP cuts at least for now) – and you can read all of the suggested amendments here.

Millions of disabled people have faced fear and have felt ignored over the last year. The government may have backtracked now, but only in hasty U-turns as they scrambled to get the bill passed to the next stage in parliament.

Mary Kelly Foy, Labour MP for the City of Durham, said: “This isn’t how we are supposed to make legislation. This passage of this bill is becoming farcical and, as we’ve seen again today, it feels as though it is being butchered and rewritten on the fly.”

Even with the PIP cuts removed from the bill, there are still significant cuts to the health element of universal credit. New claimants will receive half the amount from April 2026, while those under the age of 22 who are not already claiming the health element of the benefit will not be eligible at all. This is set to impact more than 700,000 people.

Imran Hussain, Labour MP for Bradford East, said: “Let be absolutely clear, this bill is trying to balance the books on the backs of the most vulnerable people. It’s wrong, it’s unfair and it’s not the Labour way.”

Read more about what the Labour MPs who voted against the bill had to say.

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What should be next for Labour and the welfare bill?

The welfare bill has now passed to the third stage, which means it will be subject to another debate and vote before it can move on to the House of Lords to be scrutinised further. So there’s still a way to go for the government yet.

There are plenty who would like to see the government go back to the drawing board and drop the bill entirely. They argue the government should instead work with disabled people to create a bill which is fair and compassionate, rather than trying to speedily push forward with what’s left of their original plans before parliament breaks for the summer.

Others have suggested amendments to this bill – such as ensuring that people with fluctuating conditions are protected from any cuts.

Amnesty International UK is calling for the so-called Timms review to be used as an opportunity to properly reform the PIP process for the better – warning that it can’t just be used as a “smokescreen to evade accountability”.

Here’s what charities and disability campaigners would like to see next.

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