Boris Johnson Under Pressure Not To Cut Universal Credit Uplift

BORIS JOHNSON Under Pressure Not To Cut Universal Credit Uplift in April

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is coming under pressure from the Labour Party – with a Commons opposition day debate and vote due later today (Monday) – to extend the £20-a-week Universal Credit uplift, with the Government expected to abstain.

The Government temporarily increased the benefit to help families through the coronavirus crisis, but the uplift is due to expire in April, and Mr Johnson is being told that families will be £1,000 a year worse off if he cuts it.

He is under pressure from charity organisations as well, with Javed Khan, Barnardo’s chief executive saying, “The Government must make the £20-a-week increase permanent to help stop hundreds of thousands of people falling into poverty”.

Similarly, a spokesperson for ‘Action For Children’ said the case against cutting the uplift “couldn’t be clearer” with unemployment set to peak in the summer.

Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader said, “Failing to give families a helping hand through the coronavirus pandemic would slow our economic recovery as we come out of it”.

Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, appearing on The Andrew Marr Show on BBC1, hinted no vote would be considered until at least March, and said, “We always said this would be a temporary measure, I think it is right to look at it in the round”.

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