HELP STOP UNIVERSAL CREDIT
BBC presenter Dianne dies of cancer at 51
ensuring women get the cash; landlords can take rent directly from benefits; there will be a trial of more regular payments for those who struggle to budget; parents won’t always need to pay for childcare up front; the two-child limit for youngsters born before April 2017 will be axed and MPs will delay moving more people to UC. Speaking in South London, Ms Rudd admitted parts of the system – which aims to roll six existing benefits into one – were not “compassionate”. She vowed AWARD-winning BBC presenter Dianne Oxberry has died of cancer at the age of 51.
Colleagues yesterday fought back tears on air as they paid tribute to the popular broadcaster.
Dianne was a well-known figure on Radio 1 in the 1980s before working as a weather presenter on BBC North West Tonight and fronting Inside Out North West’s current affairs show. Her family
to restore UC as a “decent safety net” but ruled out an early end to overall benefit cuts of £3.9billion a year.
She said the four-year programme should not be renewed in 2020 but gave no guarantees. Campaigners and MPs slammed her for not going far enough.
The two-child limit will still apply to births after April 2017, leaving 700,000 families up to £2,780 worse off by 2035.
UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “The limit is morally wrong and should be scrapped for everyone.”
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation said the freeze was “sweeping families into poverty” and Lib Dem MP Christine confirmed that she passed away at the Christie Hospital in Manchester on Thursday.
Krypton Factor host Gordon Burns, who worked with Dianne at the BBC, was overcome with emotion as he told viewers: “The whole region is so shocked, devastated and heartbroken. I just cannot believe it.”
He continued: “She was such an outstanding broadcaster. She was Jardine added: “It should end immediately.” The DWP is considering appealing against yesterday’s judicial review sought by Danielle Johnson, Claire Woods, Erin Barrett and Katie Stewart.
Solicitor Tessa Gregory told the hearing that dinner lady Danielle, from Keighley, West Yorks, was “a hardworking single mum” and “precisely the kind of person UC was meant to help”.
But the “rigid income assessment system” had left her £500 out of pocket over the year and spiralling into debt.
The Mirror has spearheaded the drive to halt UC but Ms Rudd shrugged off our heartbreaking stories.
After her speech she told us: “Some of the criticisms have been based on one or two individuals where the advice hasn’t worked. But for the vast majority, the sort of support is a completely different approach.
“Maybe things proposed previously weren’t effective or weren’t compassionate in the way I want them to be.”
But she insisted: “The overall product that is UC is absolutely compassionate.”
More than 60,000 people have signed the Mirror’s petition to halt the rollout of Universal Credit. Join them at mirror.co.uk/stopuniversalcredit
brilliant. When she looked down the camera she connected with the people who were watching.”
Her former Radio 1 colleague Simon Mayo said: “There was a spark in the studio when she was there and I think everyone is very devastated that she has gone.”
North West Tonight presenters Roger Johnson and Annabel Tiffin also said they were “heartbroken” by her death. Dianne was married to cameraman Ian Hindle, and the couple have two young children.
Mr Hindle said: “She was an inspiration to all who knew and loved her but also to the people who watched and welcomed her into their homes each night as if she were part of their family too.
“She will leave a massive void in our lives but because of the remarkable person she was she will forever live on in our hearts.”