PM hit with a double rebellion
THERESA May has been hit with a double rebellion by Tory MPs over welfare and energy prices on the eve of the Tory conference.
Her bid to reform the welfare system was thrown into jeopardy yesterday after Tory rebels called for a halt to Universal Credit.
And the PM faced a second revolt over her plans to tackle high energy prices before the start of the Manchester conference. She faces a nightmare four days as she desperately tries to keep a grip on power at the conference – despite growing leadership plots.
In the first rebellion, 12 Tory MPs called on the Government to halt the rollout of their benefits payment system over concerns about the impact on claimants.
A letter from them was sent to Work and Pensions Secretary David Gauke urging him to pause the Universal Credit expansion.
The campaign has been led by backbencher Heidi Allen and backed by Andrew Selous, one of Iain Duncan Smith’s former parliamentary aides, it said.
Allen spoke out in the Commons this month to call on the Government to “slow down a little bit and get it right” after figures showed about one in four new claimants wait longer than six weeks to be paid.
Gauke is set to make a decision in the coming days about whether the rollout should be accelerated.
Universal Credit combines benefits like housing benefit and tax credits into a single payment.
But charity Citizens Advice found many claimants were waiting too long for payments.