Last night a power struggle erupted over benefits as Liz Truss faces a blood-curdling showdown with her own MPs.
Open quarrel broke out at the Tory party conference as the PM stepped back from disciplining her senior team on the matter.
Ministers are currently considering saving £5bn by eliminating social benefits in line with average income rather than inflation.
Commons leader Penny Mordaunt it said “sounds logicalfor the more generous raise as she led moves against the imposition of real-term austerity measures.
Welfare Secretary Chloe Smithwho will make the decision on benefits, said: “Of course what we need to do is protect the most vulnerable first, and I think that’s critical.”
Wales Minister Sir Robert Buckland said: “The safety net is an important part of what a conservative one nation is all about.”
There is also great resistance in the back seats to backtracking on the guarantee given by the Boris Johnson government.
Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith also led calls to keep payments to lower-income families in line with inflation.
However, Interior Minister Suella Braverman told deputies people needed more incentives to get back to work and tackle “benefit-street culture”
Chloe Smith is unlikely to make a decision on the matter for at least 14 days while she conducts a review.
She is waiting for September inflation figures expected at the end of the month, with the rise in April next year.
A senior government source said MPs would vote on the issue if the increase does not match inflation.
The prime minister has refused to give a rock-solid guarantee to top up the benefits with the prices.
But pensions are protected by the so-called triple lock.
In an interview with Talk TV, she said: “We have made certain commitments, but we will have to look at things differently in the future.”