McVey should have quit over welfare claim
IT’S unbelievable that Esther McVey is still in her job as Tory Work and Pensions Secretary, despite misleading Parliament on a damning report that criticised the UK Government’s roll out of universal credit.
The Tory Government’s “flagship” welfare reform has been beset by delays, errors and austerity cuts that have left many families without vital income, struggling to get by and having to rely on emergency aid and food banks just to cover the basics.
The National Audit Office produced a report that blew a hole as wide as the Clyde in the UK Government’s case for introducing universal credit – warning it’s not clear whether it’ll cost less to administer than the current benefits system, that the DWP don’t know if it is reducing fraud and error, and that the DWP cannot measure whether it will actually lead to 200,000 more people in work, as has been claimed.
Instead of taking the concerns on board, McVey mislead Parliament on the contents of the report – falsely claiming it recommended speeding up the rollout of universal credit, when it did no such thing.
When the UK Government mislead Parliament, it is a serious issue – and whether it was deliberate or sheer incompetence, McVey should have resigned – and the UK Government should finally listen to the evidence and halt the disastrous roll out of universal credit.