£20 cut so cruel
74% won’t be able to cope with Tory cut, poll finds
THERE is little doubt over how devastating the impact a cut to Universal Credit will have on some of society’s most vulnerable people.
Anti-poverty campaigners have clearly spelled out how thousands of folk will be pushed into poverty by the Tories’ determination to remove the £20-a-week uplift next month.
Even several high-profile Tory MPs have demanded that PM Boris Johnson thinks again.
Now Citizens Advice has revealed the scale of worry among its clients about the cut. Among those who claim the benefit, three-quarters believe they won’t be able to cope without the extra £20.
It’s not too late for the UK Government to change course and commit to making the uplift permanent. In terms of political spending, the cost is a drop in the ocean.
Yet it would have a positive impact on the lives of millions of people in the UK.
Surely even Tory ministers must realise this.
HUNDREDS of claimants have admitted they will not be able to cope once the Tories cut £20 per week from Universal Credit.
The UK Government is ending the uplift to the benefit next month despite pleas from several Tory MPs and numerous anti-poverty charities.
A survey by Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) found 74 per cent of its users who claim Universal Credit said they would be unable to cope with the reduction in payment. Some 26 per cent said they would no longer be able to pay for essentials and 14 per cent said they would no longer be able to pay for food.
The UK Government increased Universal Credit at the start of the pandemic but plans to cut the payment in October.
Nina Ballantyne, of CAS said: “Increasing Universal Credit by £20 per week at the start of the pandemic was an absolute lifeline for people and a recognition that payments were too low.
“This shocking research shows that cutting the payment would have devastating consequences for lots of people who will face impossible choices on bills and spending as a result.”
Gordon Brown yesterday described the benefit cut as “completely unacceptable”. Speaking on Sky News, the former PM said: “We’ve got to get out of this pandemic by making sure that children are not in poverty.
“That’s why the cut in Universal Credit in a few weeks’ time is completely unacceptable, that puts six million families further into poverty.”
SNP MSP Neil Gray said: “The flimsy Tory justification for cutting Universal Credit to get people into work is blown wide open by the fact that a large proportion of claimants are currently in work and are still forced to make a claim.
“This demonstrates that the cut is driven by cruel Tory austerity and does not consider the needs of the most vulnerable in our society – the people who will once again suffer at the hands of Tory cuts.
“Sixty-thousand people will be pushed into poverty by this cut including 20,000 children, the UK Tory Government must reverse plans to cut Universal Credit urgently. We do not have the power in Scotland to increase the minimum wage to the level of a real living wage or implement measures to make work secure.
“We only have limited powers over social security but have still introduced the Scottish Child Payment – the benefit of which will be wiped out by this callous cut to Universal Credit.”
Last night a UK Government spokesman said: “As announced by the Chancellor at the Budget, the uplift to Universal Credit was always temporary.”