Scrapping extra £20 for families is ‘indefensible’
Tories under pressure after Commons vote
BORIS Johnson and Rishi Sunak are coming under massive pressure to maintain a weekly increase to Universal Credit after ordering Tory MPs to stay away from a Commons vote to keep the £20 uplift beyond the end of March.
Labour’s non-binding motion pressing the Government to maintain the weekly rise in April and beyond was approved on Monday night by 278 votes to zero.
Keir Starmer earlier blasted the Prime Minister as “pathetic” for ordering Conservative MPs to abstain which is seen a clear indication the Tories will push ahead with plans to scrap the lifeline payment.
Jonathan Reynolds MP, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, said: “It is disappointing that the Conservative Government refused to vote with Labour to provide families with certainty and secure our economy. They can still do the right thing and drop their plans to cut Universal Credit.
“Britain is facing the worst recession of any major economy because of the Government’s incompetence and indecision. Families cannot be made to pay the price.”
Johnson is facing pressure from the 65 Conservative MPs in the Northern Research Group (NRG) who said ending the increase in April as planned would be “devastating”.
The Prime Minister is trying to head off a major Tory revolt by floating the idea that Sunak could make a one-off payment to UC claimants of up to £750 in the March budget.
The SNP’s Ian Blackford branded Johnson “cruel” for holding out the prospect of a cut in benefits.
The SNP Westminster leader said: “It is indefensible and comes at the worst possible time, in the middle of an economic crisis and global pandemic.”
Removing support could plunge a further 730,000 children into poverty over this parliament, a report by the Resolution Foundation warned.
Downing Street denounced the vote on welfare as a “political stunt”.
Johnson insisted the Government could not be faulted in its financial support for people during the pandemic as he was pressed over the looming £20-a-week cut.
But the PM repeatedly refused to say if it would continue beyond its scheduled end date in March.
He said: “I don’t think you could fault the Government for supporting people.
“What we have said is we will put our arms around the whole of the country throughout the pandemic. We have already done £280billion worth of support and we will keep all measures under constant review.”
BUSINESS is hardly booming during this pandemic, but it has been given a helping hand by the UK Treasury with interest-free loans, grants and tax relief.
But when it comes to giving money to the poor – the people who are most directly affected by the virus, a lack of jobs and few educational opportunities – the generosity dries up.
The £20 uplift that Chancellor Rishi Sunak put on Universal Credit last year is due to come to an end, plunging many working families back below the poverty line because of the low wages they earn.
Last night’s Commons vote on a Labour motion making the uplift permanent showed there is discomfort among some Conservatives that their own Chancellor is turning Scrooge.
It seems the moral bankruptcy of leaving the poor to the wolves of the pandemic, poverty and lack of opportunity is clear even to some Tories.