We've heard a lot today about how Sir Keir Starmer is under pressure from Labour MPs to change course, following the party's dire local election results last week.

But it appears he's not the only party leader facing challenges from his own side.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch organised a drinks reception for Tory MPs last night. 

A Tory source tells Sky News that just 25 showed up. 

A reminder that while last Friday saw the Conservatives lose all control of all 17 local councils they were defending and almost 700 councillors, the party still has 121 MPs. 

Catch up on PMQs in full here - including Badenoch's six questions

In other words, a little over a fifth of Tory MPs deemed it worth their while to come along to Badenoch's booze-up.

The source adds that Nigel Huddleston, the co-chair of the party, was having to ring around to get people there.

One MP said: "The prosecco was flat and the atmosphere was flatter still."

It's not the mood music Badenoch would like following what proved to be a bruising local elections campaign - but she has refused to be drawn on her future, insisting turning the party's fortunes around will take time. 

It's also worth noting that while the number of MPs turning out for a Tory tipple is low, it's even worse news for Badenoch that Conservatives are openly sharing these numbers with the media in a bid to create an appetite for a change in leadership.

The prime minister is set to face a backbench rebellion over his proposed cuts to personal independence payments (PIP), a form of disability benefit.

Around 40 Labour MPs in the so-called Red Wall - Labour's traditional heartlands in the north of England - have reposted a statement on social media in which they said Starmer's response to the local elections has "fallen on deaf ears".

Multiple MPs spoke out against the plans during a debate on PIP in parliament this afternoon. 

One MP, Ian Byrne, even said he would "swim through vomit to vote against" the government's proposals.

Another MP said she feared the cuts could lead to deaths, while Dianne Abbott, the organiser of the debate, accused the government of putting forward "contradictory arguments".

The longest-serving female MP and Jeremy Corbyn-ally, said: "On the one hand, they insist they are helping the disabled by putting them back to work.

"But on the other hand, they say this cut will save £9bn. 

"Well, you can't do both", she added.

The government has said the number of people claiming PIP is set to rise to more than double "to over 4.3m this decade". 

Sir Stephen Timms, the social security minister, told MPs the government would not "bury its head in the sand over the rate of increase".

Watch: The PM defends the cut to winter fuel payments at PMQs

The expected rebellion is far from welcome news for the PM, but is a potential sign of further things to come. 

Since the local elections last week when Labour were trounced (down an MP, a council, a mayoralty and almost 200 councillors), there has been growing vocal discontent about the direction of the party.

Starmer sent out his close ally, Pat McFadden, to quell Labour MPs nerves, but potential rebels accused the PM of using McFadden as a "human shield".

For what it's worth, McFadden warned the around 100 MPs gathered for the meeting to expect "the fight of our lives".

The cost of housing asylum seekers in the UK is expected to be more than three times higher than previously thought, the public spending watchdog has said.

The National Audit Office (NAO) has published a briefing examining the Home Office's contracts for housing asylum seekers. 

The price for housing asylum seekers, including accommodation and support contracts, was originally estimated by the Home Office to be around £4.5bn between 2019 and 2029, the report said.

But this has now been revised upwards to £15.3bn.

The number of people seeking asylum placed in Home Office housing rose 134% between December 2019 and 2024, from 47,000 to 110,000.

The watchdog said this was because of the soaring number of people arriving in the UK by crossing the English Channel and an increase in those claiming asylum who were previously detained under the Conservative government's Illegal Migration Act.

The report also said those temporarily living in hotels make up around 35% of all people in asylum accommodation, but for about 76% of the annual cost of contracts – £1.3bn of an estimated £1.7bn in 2024-25.

Next Tuesday, MPs will question Home Office contractors Clearsprings Ready Homes, Serco and Mears about their role in finding and providing accommodation for asylum seekers. 

Government vows to bring down costs

The Home Office said: "We inherited an asylum system in chaos with tens of thousands stuck in a backlog, claims not being processed and disastrous contracts that were wasting millions in taxpayer money."

It said it 24,000 people with no right to be in the UK had been removed since Labour took office, with faster decisions on asylum and fewer hotels used expected to bring costs down by £4bn by the end of 2026.

"This is the fight of our lives."

Sir Keir Starmer sent his chief cabinet "fixer" to attempt to calm down jittery Labour MPs in a mutinous mood after last week's elections drubbing by Reform.

But instead of calming nerves, cabinet office minister Pat McFadden warned Labour were now facing "the fight of our lives" against Nigel Farage and his party.

Rebel MPs claimed McFadden, who spoke to up to 100 Labour MPs in a Commons committee room for an hour, was acting as a "human shield" for the embattled prime minister.

The emergency meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party, called at just a few hours' notice, was officially billed by the party's high command as a briefing on their "plan for change".

But it was also intended to head off a mutiny by Labour MPs after shock victories by Reform UK last week in county council polls, mayoral elections and the Runcorn and Helsby by-election.

"I want to tell you we have to take on this new fight for the future," said McFadden. "And we have to win."

Reform is flirting with traditional Labour support - workers and union members. Ten local authorities are now controlled by Reform - including Doncaster, taken from Labour - plus three mayoralties and a new MP.

After Nigel Farage's almost unbelievable success in local elections last week, is this the strategy to take him all the way to Downing Street?

Niall Paterson is joined by our political correspondent Liz Bates, and political reporter Alexandra Rogers to unpick what Reform's flirtations mean for Labour.

Victims minister Alex Davies-Jones has said "far too many have been failed" by the justice system - and told Sky News the government is now taking "extreme lengths" to correct this.

She spoke to Sophy Ridge about the government's plans to force those convicted of crimes to physically attend sentencing hearings. 

It follows a number of criminals refusing to attend - which the government says is wrong, as "justice isn't optional".

The Victims and Courts Bill has been introduced to parliament today.

Davies-Jones said: "One of the things victims have repeatedly told me is how important actually having perpetrators in the dock at the sentencing hearings is… so they can hear the direct consequences of their crimes."

"Far too many victims have been failed" and this means victims and their families "don't get to see the whites of [perpetrators] eyes", she added.

Prisoners could be shoved into court

Davies Jones added this will mean prison officers have the "option of using reasonable force" to get them to the dock. 

This could involve a prisoner being physically pushed into the courtroom.

Davies-Jones also said the government is giving the judges the power to issue sanctions on prisoners in prison itself.

She cited how those serving life sentences may not be bothered by extra years added to their prison terms, so judges will now be able to ensure that disobedient prisoners have "limited access to the gym", for example.

Turning to domestic matters and Tan Dhesi has become the latest Labour MP to call on his party leader to change tack following the local elections. 

Dhesi told Sophy Ridge the results last Friday were "very disappointing" for Labour and says that "we've got to listen, and we've got to learn, and we've got to move forward".

On benefit cuts, which have gone down about as badly as the winter fuel cuts, he wants the prime minister to take "corrective action".

"There's a lot of concern around that," he warned.

He added many of his constituents have been in touch in regard to changes to personal independence payments (PIP) and other benefits.

Pushed on whether he is calling on Starmer to publicly reverse the planned cuts, Dhesi claimed "it's not about a U-turn" but is about the government being in "listening mode".

"I hope the government will be taking on board that feedback… and then we need to take corrective action."

That sounds just a little bit like a U-turn to us. 

Watch: The PM defends cuts to winter fuel payments today

Tan Dhesi MP has said many of his constituents are "extremely concerned" by the conflict that has broken out between India and Pakistan in the last 24 hours. 

The MP for Slough told Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge many of the people he represents have family in the immediate area near to where fighting is taking place. 

He said: "As videos of the destruction circulate within the community, especially on social media platforms, many people around the world, including my Slough constituents of Indian and Pakistani heritage, are extremely concerned.

"They're worried about the safety of their loved ones, especially those living in Punjab and Kashmir, because they are living on the border, and they are the ones that are going to be most impacted and already have been impacted by the deaths and injuries within this escalating conflict."

There are more than three million Britons with Indian and Pakistani heritage currently in the UK. 

Dhesi added he too has family living on the border.

"For many of us, this is very, very real."

Dhesi: 'Imperative' UK works to de-escalate tensions

The chair of the Commons Defence Committee added he believes the government should be at the "forefront of efforts to de-escalate tensions" between the two nuclear powers. 

Dhesi said: "It is in our collective interest as allies for us to enable a defusing of tensions. 

"And that is very, very important because at the moment the only thing we see are bullets flying or bombs dropping, and that is not good either for India-Pakistan or for global peace."

Watch: Why did India strike inside Pakistan?

Pushed by Sophy on what more the UK government can do, Dhesi added Britain has "huge influence" and "the world listens to what the UK parliament has got to say".

Sir Keir Starmer must demonstrate "leadership" on the world stage, as he has in regard to Ukraine.

Dhesi also criticised former PM Rishi Sunak's intervention - saying India was right to launch strikes - and said the UK should not be "seen to be taking sides".

Tensions between India and Pakistan - two nuclear powers - are escalating. 

Pakistan has threatened retaliation after 26 people were killed in Indian airstrikes in response to a terror attack on Indian tourists. 

Wherever you look, the world feels pretty small at the minute: conflicts feel closer, everything feels connected. 

But with India and Pakistan, things feel really close - because of Britain's history with these nations, and also because of the two million British Indians and 1.6 million British Pakistanis living in the UK. 

You might be one of them, listening to this. So it was a particularly personal debate in the House of Commons today.

This is personal - not just political

There were calls to for the British government to use its influence in the region, and those calls were all the stronger given Britain's history with both India and Pakistan.

For many MPs, this is personal as well as political - including the Speaker, Nus Ghani, who was born in Kashmir, and had to tell MPs to calm down at points. 

This is one of those times when the deep emotions here in Westminster reflect the deep emotions in the country, and I just want to recognise that before we all get swept away in the geopolitics.

Our flagship weeknight politics programme is under way.

Joining us tonight to discuss the situation between India and Pakistan is defence select committee chair Tan Dhesi MP.

To talk about the government's sentencing reforms, we've got justice minister Alex Davies-Jones MP.

And on the election of a new pope, we have the former Tory MP and Catholic Union vide president Alex Stafford.

On the panel are:

• Emily Thornberry MP, former shadow attorney general
• Guto Harri, former Downing Street communications director

Our TV coverage in the stream above is being dominated by the new pope's election at the Vatican, but we'll bring you Sophy's interviews and analysis here shortly.