A year ago when we elected the Labour government, and threw out the Tories, it felt like a massive corner turned in this nations prosperity.

The constant chaos of the Tories came to an end and we could start a fresh.

However, I’m afraid that the Labour party’s leadership, the Labour Party that I support, turned into a bit of a mess last night (Tuesday 1st July) in parliament.

We all knew that there was a growing number of backbench Labour MPs that would rebel against the government when it came to the Welfare Bill. In it’s aim to save money, the government tried to curb those on welfare, including those on Pip. A Labour government going against a major Labour principle.

Heading into the day, the government had already reversed some of the cuts to universal credit and put the restrictions of the Pip eligibility rules purely onto new claimants – protecting those already on it.

It is reported that many MPs still thought this hadn’t gone far enough (and I agree) and therefore were still going to rebel.

Then, during the debate – literally the 11th hour – the government announced another major U-turn. There would be no change to Pip rules until the government considered recommendations from a review.

Basically the government ripped apart the bill.

I watched Parliament on TV last night – flicking between that and Wimbledon – the faces of the Labour MPs were grim. The place seemed to be in a mess. From an outside prospective, it seemed pointless that they were going ahead with the vote.

The government should have just pulled the whole thing.

I am very gutted about how the Labour leadership has handled this. Labour are founded on a party of the working class, of principles and fairness.

Too many policies are going after the wrong people.

There seems to be this urge to get the finances in order by a certain date. But everyone knows the governments budget is very different from personal budgets – they can hold that debt longer than individuals.

Realistically the economy has been struggling since 2008. Yes we have seen growth, but not the type that we saw before.

The last thing the economy needs is for money to be taken out.

The last thing the economy needs is for those at the bottom of the chain to have even less money.

I’m sorry to say but the Prime Minister and his team do need a reset. Not necessarily in the make up of the team, but how they approach different areas of the economy and government departments. They need to stand by Labour principles.

Overall I do actually think the government have done well. A lot of things have gone under the radar which I think the public overall agree with. Unfortunately it’s the U-turns that have made the headlines.

Last night was a mess and Labour can learn from it going forward.

Be less Tory, be more Labour.