LONDON — Jeremy Corbyn has accused Theresa May of leading a "government in chaos" and called on the prime minister to stand down.

In the first Prime Minister's Questions since Parliament returned from party conference season, the Labour leader said the government was "more interested in fighting among themselves" than tackling the biggest issues facing the country, including Brexit, and added: "If if the PM can't lead, she should leave."

Corbyn said: "Everywhere you look it's a government in chaos.

"On the most important issues, it's a shambles. Brexit negotiations, made no progress, Bombardier and other workers facing redundancy, most workers worse off, young people pushed into record levels of debt... our NHS at breaking point."

He added: "This government is more interested in fighting among themselves than solving these problems. Isn't it the case that if the PM can't lead, she should leave?"

Watch: Corbyn lays into May and the government

'If you can't lead, leave' - @jeremycorbyn says the government is more interested in fighting amongst themselves than solving problems #PMQs pic.twitter.com/cif3eReISZ — Sky News (@SkyNews) October 11, 2017

The Labour leader kicked off PMQs with an attack on the government's policy on Universal Credit.

Corbyn referenced the Citizens Advice Bureau, which recently described the policy as a "disaster waiting to happen," and quoted a member of the public who wrote to him saying that the policy had left her family "with no money to survive" during the summer.

He added: "The PM talks about helping the poorest but the reality is a very, very different story.

"Absurdly the Universal Credit helpline costs claimants 55p per minute for the privilege of trying to get someone to help them claim what they believe they're entitled to.

"Will the PM intervene today, show some humanity and at least make the helpline free?"

May insisted that the Universal Credit system was being "improved" and defended the Conservative government's record of lifting people out of poverty, before attacking the handling of welfare under past Labour governments.

"Let's just think about the Labour party's record on welfare," the prime minister told the Commons.

"Under the Labour Party, 1.4m people spent most of the last decade trapped on out of work benefits.

"The number of households where no member had ever worked nearly doubled. The welfare bill went up by 60% in real terms, which cost every household an extra £3,000 a year. That's not the way to run a system, that's the way to have a system that is failing ordinary working people."