Ross backs extension to benefit bonus
Attempts by t he S cottish Conservatives to distance themselves from the UK party have been ramped up after their leader Douglas Ross said he backed calls for an extension to the £ 20- a- week uplift to Universal Credit.
Mr Ross’s change of position is at odds with the view o f t h e UK g o v e r n ment , which has not committed to an extension and comes as he publicly backed Manchester Un ited striker Marcus Rashford’s free school meals campaign despite his party’s opposition.
The Scottish Conservative leader has also said Scottish Tory MPS will no longer vote on England- only matters after five of them voted against a Labour motion backing the extension of free school meals into the holidays. Mr Ross abstained.
C hancellor Rishi Sunak announced the Universal Credit uplift in April as the country entered lockdown and peo ple began to lose thei r jobs.
It is due to end in April 2021,
but a campaign led by the charity the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and backed by the SNP has called for it to be extended. About half a million Scots receive the benefit.
Mr Ross announced yesterday he backed an extension, labelling it a “vital safety net”.
He said: “Throughout this pandemic, Universal Credit has been a vital safety net for nearly half a million people across Scotland and many more across the UK.
“I don’t think it would be f air to pull support away from people while this pandemic continues to damage our way of life so deeply.”