John Healey was forced into a humiliating climbdown over welfare on Thursday.

The Chancellor triggered chaos in Whitehall after suggesting the runaway benefits bill would be cut before the next election in 'a Labour way'.

Within hours, the Treasury was trying to row back on his words and Downing Street distanced itself, saying Andy Burnham would not commit to an 'arbitrary timetable' for curbing spending on benefits.

And, last night, Mr Healey reversed his position, saying it was 'not correct to say that we're going to bring this welfare bill down in this Parliament'.

Kemi Badenoch said it was 'astounding' that the Government could not commit to reducing benefits this decade, despite the costs forecast to rise by more than £60billion by 2029.

The Tory leader told the Daily Mail: 'Labour is addicted to benefits and this is why they are getting into a mess every day.

'In just 24 hours, the Chancellor has said there will be no cuts to the benefits bill, gone on the BBC and said actually there will, then had to admit that actually there won't be. 

'All while officials scramble to clean up the chaos. It appears the Prime Minister's "foot in mouth" is contagious.'

Mrs Badenoch said ministers should be 'cutting welfare, funding defence and slashing red tape to get Britain growing', adding: 'Instead they are tinkering around the edges, too scared to confront their MPs ahead of an early election.'

The row came after new forecasts suggested the welfare bill is set to continue rising sharply following Labour's decision to abandon reforms last year.

The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) think-tank revealed that working-age and child benefits alone are set to jump by £33.4billion over the next five years. 

The increase is so big it will swallow up the entire proceeds of the stealth raid on tax thresholds, which is expected to raise £33.1billion over the same period.

Joe Shalam, policy director at the CSJ, said: 'Public support for a system there to protect the most disadvantaged is being pushed to breaking point. A holding position will not fix that. No doubt this will all be addressed in a manifesto that is surely in the post.

'But Britain cannot wait for an election. When the sugar rush wears off, all that will be left is wasted money and wasted potential.'

Meanwhile, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) warned that benefits spending has grown so rapidly under Labour that the Government is now on course to break its own generous 'welfare cap'. 

The cap covers most working-age benefits but excludes pensions. It was set by the last Conservative government at £135.4billion, only to be lifted by Rachel Reeves to a total of £204.2billion by 2029.

The OBR now predicts that spending covered by the cap is now on course to hit £207billion in 2029, busting the limit by almost £3billion.

Breaking the cap would require ministers to bring forward measures to reduce spending – or justify the breach to Parliament.

Polling by More in Common found the public believes spending on benefits is 'unsustainable' by a margin of 60:23. 

Concern cuts across party lines, with Labour voters raising doubts about long-term affordability. The PM yesterday claimed the Government was working 'flat out' to cut spending on benefits and wants to do so 'as soon as we possibly can'.

Downing Street said two reviews will come next month and a policy paper would follow, but could not say whether it will be published in the next 12 months.

Any reforms are then likely to need legislation. Eduin Latimer, from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said the 'most straightforward' way to get 'guaranteed savings' was to cut the level of benefit payments or reduce the number of those eligible, as the Conservatives and Reform UK are proposing.

He added: 'An alternative is to try to invest in support, things like employment support or increased health spending, which might reduce demand for benefit spending. I think that is closer to this suggestion from the Government of a "Labour way"… but it's much more uncertain.'

Delivering his Budget on Wednesday, the Chancellor said the Government would 'bring down the welfare bill' but offered no new proposals to cut a bill that is forecast to top £350billion next year. 

In an interview broadcast yesterday, but recorded on Wednesday evening, he suggested in response to a question on BBC Radio 4's Today programme that there would be welfare cuts before the next general election.

But Treasury officials insisted his words did not commit the Government to cuts before the election. 

At the end of a shambolic day, hours after Downing Street had distanced itself, Mr Healey U-turned, saying he had no expectation of making quick savings on welfare.

Reform UK's Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick said Mr Healey had been 'utterly humiliated'. He added: 'You can change the Chancellor, but you will never change the Labour Party's addiction to benefits spending.'