Tory claims £3,000 benefit cut ‘good’ for self-employed
A TORY Minister has been branded “insensitive” after boasting a £3,000 benefits cut can be a “good outcome”.
Alok Sharma was accused of “patronising” hundreds of thousands of people losing out from Universal Credit.
He was defending figures that show two-thirds of self-employed claimants will be worse off under the new system compared with the old one.
The Office for Budget Responsibility expects 432,000 people to lose £2,927 a year on average by 2023. Employment Minister Mr Sharma said it would “incentivise” the selfemployed to be “more productive”. The cut is due to a “Minimum Income Floor” that bans them from getting any more benefits if their profits fall below the minimum wage. Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Debbie Abrahams said: “Universal Credit risks being a disaster for the self-employed.”