Government ministers talking about child poverty have been a bit like buses this week – nothing for years then two come along at once. First we had the Chancellor. When presented with analysis showing that his decision not to increase benefits in line with inflation would push 500,000 children into poverty, he made clear that…
A quarter of a million children will go hungry this Christmas. That is just one of the headlines from the Childhood Trust’s ‘Cold, Hungry and Stressed’ report, outlining the shocking levels of poverty families across London have been plunged into ahead of the festive season. Laurence Guinness, chief executive of The Childhood Trust, outlined some…
Chancellor Rishi Sunak faced questions from the parliamentary treasury committee today in his first statement since the budget was unveiled last Wednesday. Sunak defended his national insurance rise, saying: “Anyone who tells you that there’s another way to raise… billions of pounds, I don’t think is being honest or credible because there really isn’t.” After…
Footballer Marcus Rashford has further criticised the scrapping of the Universal Credit uplift. The 23-year-old forward for Manchester United has spearheaded high profile campaigns against child hunger and the cut to Universal Credit that came into force this week. Speaking to BBC Breakfast TV this morning, Rashford was critical of the government’s decision to end…
The £20 a week uplift in Universal Credit introduced in April 2020 will end today. The top-up was intended as a temporary measure to help people on low incomes during the pandemic, but many have urged the government not to scrap it. The exact date the money will stop being paid will vary depending on…
Deputy prime minister, Dominic Raab, faced questions from the deputy Labour leader, Angela Rayner, at Prime Minister’s Questions today in the House of Commons. Rayner seemed to enjoy her time in the spotlight, aiming a few personal jabs at Raab, saying: “A worker on the minimum wage would need to work an extra 50 days…
Research published on Sunday by the free-market think tank the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) and the firm, Public First, has controversially suggested that there is polling evidence of a “long-term collapse in support for the welfare state”. Previous polling has suggested that public opinion towards welfare had become more sympathetic during the Covid 19…
Labour’s proposition to keep the £20 universal credit uplift passed today by 253 votes to 0. However, the government is still expected to get rid of the uplift later this year. Following the vote count, Labour MP Angela Eagle said: “It was once the case, Madam Deputy Speaker, that when governments lost opposition votes, they…
Labour leader Keir Starmer called the government’s plan to remove the universal credit uplift “unfair” today in the Commons during Prime Minister’s Questions. Johnson largely deflected from the topic, saying the Conservatives are “encouraging measures to see their [low paid people] wages rise.” Ian Blackford, the SNP’s Westminster leader, pointed out that, coupled with…
