“The Chancellor may say he has a plan for jobs but he has no plan for paying the bills” – JRF

Responding to the Chancellor’s speech at Conservative Party Conference, Helen Barnard, Deputy Director of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said:

“The Chancellor may say he has a plan for jobs but he has no plan for paying the bills. He spoke of doing whatever it takes to protect people’s livelihoods, yet he is cutting the incomes of around 5.5 million families by £1,040 a year on Wednesday when we are facing a cost of living crisis.

“It is completely wrong to suggest there is a trade-off between good jobs and adequate social security when they are both essential to improving people’s living standards. This cut will impact many working families and inadequate social security makes it harder for people to seize opportunities whilst they struggle to stay afloat. We must ensure people who are sick, disabled or caring for others and therefore unable to work can meet their needs with dignity.

“To impose the biggest ever overnight cut to social security would be economically irresponsible which is why it is so fiercely opposed from across the political spectrum. The Government can't credibly claim to be levelling up while levelling down people's incomes. He must abandon this cut."