RAPE CLAUSE HAS RUTH ON THE RUN
DESPERATE Ruth Davidson yesterday tried to distance herself from her own party’s hated “rape clause”.
The Tories want to limit tax credit to families’ first two children – unless women can prove subsequent children were conceived through rape.
Grilled about the rule, the Scottish Conservative leader admitted she supported it.
But she claimed her party could back a “large family supplement” to top up benefits in Scotland.
The SNP criticised that as a desperate attempt to defend a “repugnant” policy.
Davidson said: “No matter which political party you’re in, nobody supports children born of rape being affected by the two-child cap. That’s why the exemption has been put in place.
“Some parties disagree with the idea that tax credit should be limited to the first two children. That’s a perfectly legitimate position to be in.
“But I think it is disingenuous, when you have the powers to change that but choose not to, to attack others who do support it.
“The SNP have a huge wealth of welfare powers and could absolutely introduce a large family supplement, or whatever you wanted to call it, that would mean a third and subsequent children weren’t affected by child tax credit restrictions.
“Absolutely, it’s within the power of the Scottish Parliament.”
Davidson claimed a family supplement proposal would be considered by her group.
“It’s something that we certainly will look at,” she said. SNP MP Alison Thewliss, who has campaigned to scrap the cap, said: “Ruth Davidson is all over the place – her attempts to defend the heinous two-child policy and rape clause are becoming ever more desperate.
“First, Ms Davidson hid behind a spokesman to say that she supported a cap on children and the repugnant rape clause – forcing a woman to prove that her child was conceived as a result of rape to access child tax credits.
“Now she’s demanding that the SNP clean up the Tories’ mess – and saying that she’d ‘consider’ backing mitigation of a policy she says she supports. It’s absurd.
“The fact is that people in Scotland already pay into the welfare system.
“If Ruth Davidson is serious about this, she should pick up the phone to her bosses in Westminster and demand that Scotland is given our fair share of the £12billion savings from welfare cuts.
“It’s time for the Tories to realise their mistake and stop this policy in its tracks now.”
The Scottish Government will lead a debate on tax credit cuts on Tuesday next week, following condemnation of the policy at Holyrood.