Finding £12bn of savings from the welfare budget was always going to be a tough nut to crack and so it has proved.

The cost of tax credits has spiralled in the past decade to £30bn a year and is inevitably a target for cuts. But, trying to slash at a stroke hundreds of pounds a year off the incomes of low-paid working households is political hubris and goes against the grain of Conservative policy, to help those into work and off benefits.