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| Iain Duncan Smith broadside leaves David Cameron facing test of unity | Iain Duncan Smith broadside leaves David Cameron facing test of unity |
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| David Cameron will seek to heal deep divisions in his party following a stinging attack by Iain Duncan Smith, as his successor, Stephen Crabb, prepares to formally abandon proposed changes to personal independence payments. | David Cameron will seek to heal deep divisions in his party following a stinging attack by Iain Duncan Smith, as his successor, Stephen Crabb, prepares to formally abandon proposed changes to personal independence payments. |
| Related: How the Iain Duncan Smith resignation crisis unfolded | |
| On Monday, Cameron will use his statement on the EU summit to respond to the crisis by restating the case for “modern compassionate conservatism”. | On Monday, Cameron will use his statement on the EU summit to respond to the crisis by restating the case for “modern compassionate conservatism”. |
| A No 10 spokeswoman said: “We are sorry to see Iain Duncan Smith go, but we are a one-nation government determined to continue helping everyone in our society have more security and opportunity, including the most disadvantaged.” | A No 10 spokeswoman said: “We are sorry to see Iain Duncan Smith go, but we are a one-nation government determined to continue helping everyone in our society have more security and opportunity, including the most disadvantaged.” |
| The Conservative party descended into civil war on Sunday, as a succession of MPs came out in support of Duncan Smith after he savaged the party leadership for protecting wealthy Tory-voting pensioners at the expense of the working poor. | The Conservative party descended into civil war on Sunday, as a succession of MPs came out in support of Duncan Smith after he savaged the party leadership for protecting wealthy Tory-voting pensioners at the expense of the working poor. |
| One MP accused Duncan Smith of lobbing a grenade into the party with an emotional resignation as work and pensions secretary that has broken apart a Tory consensus on austerity. | One MP accused Duncan Smith of lobbing a grenade into the party with an emotional resignation as work and pensions secretary that has broken apart a Tory consensus on austerity. |
| But other backbenchers sent messages of support to the former Conservative leader, with some launching their own attacks on Cameron and his chancellor, George Osborne. | But other backbenchers sent messages of support to the former Conservative leader, with some launching their own attacks on Cameron and his chancellor, George Osborne. |
| Related: The IDS way: Victorian morality, reforming zeal and gross incompetence | |
| In a parting interview, Duncan Smith accused Osborne of delivering a “deeply unfair” budget that inflicted substantial reductions in disability benefits while offering tax cuts for the most affluent. | In a parting interview, Duncan Smith accused Osborne of delivering a “deeply unfair” budget that inflicted substantial reductions in disability benefits while offering tax cuts for the most affluent. |
| He also said a Treasury climbdown over reforms to personal independence payments (PIP) would still leave his old Whitehall department having to find more than £4bn of savings from the welfare budget. Crabb, the new work and pensions secretary, will on Monday tell parliament the PIP proposals will not be going ahead. | He also said a Treasury climbdown over reforms to personal independence payments (PIP) would still leave his old Whitehall department having to find more than £4bn of savings from the welfare budget. Crabb, the new work and pensions secretary, will on Monday tell parliament the PIP proposals will not be going ahead. |
| The former work and pensions secretary accused the chancellor of setting an “arbitrary” welfare cap that risked dividing society. | The former work and pensions secretary accused the chancellor of setting an “arbitrary” welfare cap that risked dividing society. |
| “The truth is yes, we need to get the deficit down,” Duncan Smith told The Andrew Marr Show. “But we need to make sure we widen the scope of where we look and not just narrow it down on working age benefits.” He insisted his decision was nothing to do with the fight over the EU referendum taking place inside the party. | “The truth is yes, we need to get the deficit down,” Duncan Smith told The Andrew Marr Show. “But we need to make sure we widen the scope of where we look and not just narrow it down on working age benefits.” He insisted his decision was nothing to do with the fight over the EU referendum taking place inside the party. |
| “Because otherwise it just looks like we see this as a pot of money, that it doesn’t matter because they don’t vote for us … This is not the way to do government.” | “Because otherwise it just looks like we see this as a pot of money, that it doesn’t matter because they don’t vote for us … This is not the way to do government.” |
| The comments triggered a dramatic day in politics, with the energy secretary, Amber Rudd, slamming Duncan Smith as being “completely wrong” and claiming that she resented his “high moral tone”. | The comments triggered a dramatic day in politics, with the energy secretary, Amber Rudd, slamming Duncan Smith as being “completely wrong” and claiming that she resented his “high moral tone”. |
| No 10 rebuffed Duncan Smith’s insistence that Cameron could claim to be running a one-nation government. The criticism is likely to hurt the prime minister and the chancellor, who both see themselves as modernisers, with advisers highlighting policies around the personal tax threshold, national living wage and discrimination. | No 10 rebuffed Duncan Smith’s insistence that Cameron could claim to be running a one-nation government. The criticism is likely to hurt the prime minister and the chancellor, who both see themselves as modernisers, with advisers highlighting policies around the personal tax threshold, national living wage and discrimination. |
| Downing Street also stressed the prime minister would continue with his manifesto commitments to control welfare spending and balance the books. | Downing Street also stressed the prime minister would continue with his manifesto commitments to control welfare spending and balance the books. |
| Related: The Tories are split in two: this is where it gets really nasty | Matthew d’Ancona | |
| But others lined up in support of Duncan Smith with an astonishing string of attacks on Cameron and Osborne, whose odds of taking over the Tory leadership were cut by bookmakers. The chancellor will face rebellion this week as MPs try to force amendments on to the budget. | But others lined up in support of Duncan Smith with an astonishing string of attacks on Cameron and Osborne, whose odds of taking over the Tory leadership were cut by bookmakers. The chancellor will face rebellion this week as MPs try to force amendments on to the budget. |
| Sarah Wollaston, MP for Totnes, described the weekend’s events as a “pivotal moment” for her party. “The party has got to resolve this. You cannot have a rhetoric as a party that says we’ve got to ‘all be in this together’ and then the budget kind of demonstrates it is very clearly not that.” | Sarah Wollaston, MP for Totnes, described the weekend’s events as a “pivotal moment” for her party. “The party has got to resolve this. You cannot have a rhetoric as a party that says we’ve got to ‘all be in this together’ and then the budget kind of demonstrates it is very clearly not that.” |
| Bernard Jenkin, a leading Eurosceptic voice in the party, told Sky News: “Everything is dictated from the top for short-term political advantage, everything is tactical – this cannot go on.” | Bernard Jenkin, a leading Eurosceptic voice in the party, told Sky News: “Everything is dictated from the top for short-term political advantage, everything is tactical – this cannot go on.” |
| Steve Baker, Tory MP and leader of the Conservative out campaign, said the budget had triggered a “nightmare” for Conservatives that must not be allowed to poison the EU debate. “We’ve ended up being elected on a manifesto that preserves all benefits for pensions irrespective of their own wealth and in a rather woolly way to save billions of pounds in working age benefits.” | Steve Baker, Tory MP and leader of the Conservative out campaign, said the budget had triggered a “nightmare” for Conservatives that must not be allowed to poison the EU debate. “We’ve ended up being elected on a manifesto that preserves all benefits for pensions irrespective of their own wealth and in a rather woolly way to save billions of pounds in working age benefits.” |
| Some suggested the outpouring was a coordinated campaign by Eurosceptics furious at the way Cameron and Osborne had handled the EU referendum debate. Cameron has taken the unprecedented step of cancelling collective responsibility of government to allow ministers to speak out on both sides of the argument. | Some suggested the outpouring was a coordinated campaign by Eurosceptics furious at the way Cameron and Osborne had handled the EU referendum debate. Cameron has taken the unprecedented step of cancelling collective responsibility of government to allow ministers to speak out on both sides of the argument. |
| But the tone of his arguments, and the fact that Osborne made a pro-EU pitch in the budget, caused irritation. Osborne has faced criticism from others in favour of Britain’s membership of the EU as well. | But the tone of his arguments, and the fact that Osborne made a pro-EU pitch in the budget, caused irritation. Osborne has faced criticism from others in favour of Britain’s membership of the EU as well. |
| Heidi Allen, a leading rebel on tax credits last year, said the jury was out on whether the Conservatives had the right chancellor. Pressed on whether Osborne could still become prime minister, Allen said: “Sometimes the strength of a man is how he picks himself up. Let’s see how he responds. If this is attempted to be brushed under the carpet, I would say his chances are over. But people would forgive mistakes,” she added. | Heidi Allen, a leading rebel on tax credits last year, said the jury was out on whether the Conservatives had the right chancellor. Pressed on whether Osborne could still become prime minister, Allen said: “Sometimes the strength of a man is how he picks himself up. Let’s see how he responds. If this is attempted to be brushed under the carpet, I would say his chances are over. But people would forgive mistakes,” she added. |
| Those more supportive of Osborne wanted to speak anonymously as tensions reached boiling point. One accused Duncan Smith of acting “self-indulgently”, adding that: “This is the third time that he has lobbed a grenade into the party.” | Those more supportive of Osborne wanted to speak anonymously as tensions reached boiling point. One accused Duncan Smith of acting “self-indulgently”, adding that: “This is the third time that he has lobbed a grenade into the party.” |
| They said Osborne had been written off before and had come back. “There are some people determined that it should not be George but it was the economy that won the election. It is still his to lose.” | They said Osborne had been written off before and had come back. “There are some people determined that it should not be George but it was the economy that won the election. It is still his to lose.” |
| Ryan Shorthouse, director of a Conservative thinktank, Bright Blue, said the divide was not a simple ideological split, with MPs on the liberal wing of the party backing Osborne over Duncan Smith. | Ryan Shorthouse, director of a Conservative thinktank, Bright Blue, said the divide was not a simple ideological split, with MPs on the liberal wing of the party backing Osborne over Duncan Smith. |
| “What you won’t see from this resignation is the emergence of two clear camps: Team George and Team IDS. That’s because the division between the two men is primarily personal – about their attitude and behaviour towards one another as cabinet colleagues,” he said. | “What you won’t see from this resignation is the emergence of two clear camps: Team George and Team IDS. That’s because the division between the two men is primarily personal – about their attitude and behaviour towards one another as cabinet colleagues,” he said. |
| Crabb admitted it was an “interesting and slightly turbulent period” in an interview with Wales online. He will be tasked with finding £4bn of DWP savings. | Crabb admitted it was an “interesting and slightly turbulent period” in an interview with Wales online. He will be tasked with finding £4bn of DWP savings. |
| Work and pensions committee chairman Frank Field said on Sunday that the chancellor “needs to call off his dogs” and not force Crabb to find extra £4bn. | Work and pensions committee chairman Frank Field said on Sunday that the chancellor “needs to call off his dogs” and not force Crabb to find extra £4bn. |
| But questions remain over whether the government will be forced to look at pensioner benefits. One source said the DWP had previously been told by No 10 hitting elderly voters was “100% off limits”. | But questions remain over whether the government will be forced to look at pensioner benefits. One source said the DWP had previously been told by No 10 hitting elderly voters was “100% off limits”. |
| The former disability minister Maria Miller said: “The time has come for the government to look at how they can ensure budget reductions fall more fairly in terms of support for older people as well as those who have disabilities or are of working age.” | The former disability minister Maria Miller said: “The time has come for the government to look at how they can ensure budget reductions fall more fairly in terms of support for older people as well as those who have disabilities or are of working age.” |
| It comes as a government document reveals ministers are considering overhauling another disability benefit for elderly people. Plans could see a shake-up of the attendance allowance, which is claimed by 1.45 million people. | It comes as a government document reveals ministers are considering overhauling another disability benefit for elderly people. Plans could see a shake-up of the attendance allowance, which is claimed by 1.45 million people. |