Labour MP for Redcar, , today criticised the
government for pushing ahead with ‘toxic’ Universal Credit
despite proof that the reform pushes people into poverty and
debt.
Yesterday Anna asked Ministers for guarantees that the 11,000
households in Redcar constituency which are due to transition to
the new benefit would not be worse off.
Unhappy with the response received, today she raised it again
during an Opposition Day debate on the reform. Anna accused the
Prime Minister of abandoning the concern for fighting the
injustices of poverty that she had pledged to lead on. She said:
“When the Prime Minister stood on the steps of Downing Street two
years ago, she talked about fighting against the burning
injustices of poverty.
“Well, how hollow those words sound now to those people working
around the clock, doing their best, struggling through life in
her words, who are on or will be transitioning to universal
credit.
Not content with devastating lives and communities through the
bedroom tax; not content with a brutal sanctions regime that
demoralises and degrades, not content with a work assessment
regime that tells people with degenerative diseases they are fit
to work; not content with a rise in child poverty.
“This government is pushing on with a reform that has been
proven, PROVEN, to push people into debt and poverty since 2012.”
Read Anna’s full speech
here:
When the Prime Minister stood on the steps of Downing Street two
years ago, she talked about fighting against the burning
injustices of poverty.
Well, how hollow those words sound now to those people working
around the clock, doing their best, struggling through life in
her words, who are on or will be transitioning to universal
credit.
I’m afraid her words have turned to dust, her promises sacrificed
on the altar of austerity.
Her ministers sit here today clinging doggedly to a cruel and
toxic policy that is pushing people into destitution and which
will be her legacy.
Not content with devastating lives and communities through the
bedroom tax; not content with a brutal sanctions regime that
demoralises and degrades, not content with a work assessment
regime that tells people with degenerative diseases they are fit
to work; not content with a rise in child poverty
This government is pushing on with a reform that has been proven,
PROVEN, to push people into debt and poverty since 2012.
I know the party opposite have had enough of experts, but when
you have the Trussell Trust, Citizens Advice, the National Audit
Office, Mind, Shelter, local authorities, the , over 80
disability charities, and your own former Conservative Prime
Minister telling you it’s not working, surely you have to stop
and think!
When Universal Credit goes live on November 28th in Redcar &
Cleveland, families will receive their first lump sum payment
just a week before Christmas. This is going to pile pressure on
families, trying to pay for Christmas and all of their household
bills too.
According to figures from the House of Commons Library, full
rollout in my area including legacy benefits will bring nearly 11
thousand households on to Universal Credit
Almost 6000 of those households have children and an estimated 3
and a half thousands households include people with disabilities
Thousands of vulnerable people in my area are going to be moved
on to a benefit which has been beset with payment delays and has
seen food bank use skyrocket by over 50% in areas of full-roll
out.
The minister yesterday could not reassure me in my question that
my constituents would not be worse off
When even the Secretary of State is admitting herself that this
reform will see families £200 a month worse off, we know it is
not fit for purpose and must be stopped
And we all know this is about more than just simplifying the
welfare system and making work pay. Those are aims many of us on
all sides of this house would support. But the reality of this
reform is that it is being used to bring in welfare cuts through
the back door and despite the protests I have heard this
afternoon opposite, it is affecting people already in work.
Far from making work pay, as I have heard many try to argue
today, analysis from the Child Poverty Action Group shows that
these cuts reduce the gains made from work. Parents already
working full time on the increased minimum wage would have to
work the equivalent of an extra month per year - and single
parents two months - just to recoup this cost
Moreover, the transitional protection which is meant to ensure
families do not lose out will not actually be available to many
of those who need it.
So we know that Universal Credit is being used by the party
opposite to disguise massive cuts to welfare. Rather than making
work pay, as they claim they want to do, the new system will
leave vulnerable people reliant on food banks and forced in to
personal debt.
