Tory peer withdraws name from key amendment to borders bill

Philippa Stroud was a key figure behind Conservative rebels’ failed efforts to force the government to reverse the £20-a-week universal credit cut. Photograph: Rex Features

A prominent Conservative peer withdrew her name from a key amendment to the borders bill, amid a “fierce whipping operation” to secure the controversial nationality and borders bill.

The government was defeated three more times in the Lords, meaning a further potential standoff between peers and MPs including on asylum seekers’ right to work.