Universal Credit cut plan shameful

THE difference of having an extra £20 in your pocket each week might not sound like a lot to some people.

But to others it’s the difference between putting food on the table or skipping a meal or whether they can afford to turn the heating on.

The UK Government announced a £20-a-week increase to Universal Credit at the height of the first lockdown last year. Now Tory ministers are set to scrap the increase at a time when society’s most vulnerable are still struggling.

The uplift policy is due to expire in April and there is no sign it will be extended beyond that month.

Boris Johnson’s Government, with its reputation for helping the richest and ignoring everyone else, should for once do the decent thing and make the increase permanent.

The Prime Minister has been warned by his opposite number Sir Keir Starmer that millions of families will be £1000 a year worse off if the Government scraps the increase.

Labour will use its opposition day debate in the Commons on Monday afternoon to force a vote on the plans.

Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the cut would leave “unemployment support at a 30-year low in the midst of a jobs crisis and threaten our economic recovery”.

The majority of benefits are set by the UK Government and the Scottish Government has limited powers to offset cuts made by Westminster.

Boris Johnson’s Tories are planning to take money from people who need it most in the midst of a national crisis. Shameful.