Third U-turn in a month leaves Keir Starmer diminished

This is the third time Keir Starmer has reversed course in recent weeks in the face of pressure. Photograph: Eddie Mulholland/PA Media

After his third U-turn this month, Keir Starmer will hope he has done enough to avoid a humiliating first Commons defeat as prime minister on Tuesday, even if he is now a diminished figure in front of his party and the country.

Over Wednesday night and Thursday, Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, and the deputy PM, Angela Rayner, sat down with leading rebels and agreed a series of changes to the government’s welfare bill that ministers hope will be enough to get it over the line.