Tim Farron has challenged Conservative and Labour parliamentarians to join with the Liberal Democrats to overturn the Government’s proposed cuts to Universal Credit. These are almost identical to the cuts to tax credits which the Chancellor reversed in his Autumn Statement. It is surely only logical that the changes to Universal Credit should also be reversed.
The Party is to put an amendment repealing those changes. It will be discussed as part of the Committee stage on the Welfare Reform and Work Bill in the New Year.
Tim Farron said:
The first big political battle of 2016 is already looming.
The Liberal Democrats worked hard to stop Tax Credit cuts and we won’t let the Government bring it in through the back door.
The Prime Minister and Chancellor claim they want to make work pay, but cuts to Universal Credit will mean people pocket less of what they earn.
Their actions show they simply do not care about working people on low incomes.
The big question is, after bottling voting in the Lords to stop Tax Credits this year, will Labour finally put their money where their mouth is and support Lib Dems when we attempt to put a stop to this attack on working people?
It’s good that, yet again, Liberal Democrats are setting the agenda on standing up for low income families, treading the ground that Labour have been too timid to tread. Let’s hope that their peers back this amendment. If it succeeds, and the measure is then voted upon by the Commons, the Tory MPs who opposed the Government’s initial tax credit plans should have no reason to support this.
Tim is right to show the country what a radical Parliament could do to hold the Government to account. Whether the old establishment, as conservative in the Labour Party as it is in the Tories, will take the opportunity is yet to be seen. Breath should not be held, though. On this issue, the stakes are high. £1000 is a sum that low income families cannot afford to lose. Will Labour step up and help?
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
One Comment
‘Almost 900 UK bankers paid €1m plus by US banks in 2014’. The Guardian today. Yes, the same banks that paid virtually no Corporation Tax.
“God bless us all”, said Tiny Tim………And a very happy New Year to all