Cutting back on universal credit is foolish

In the latest “levelling up” news, Universal Credit claimants are now receiving messages from the Department for Work and Pensions informing them that their £20 uplift is coming to an end as the government looks to make the poorest pay for the post-pandemic book balancing.

There seems to be no sign of backtracking, as yesterday the tone deaf Prime Minister suggested 2.3million Brits on low wages should be using “their efforts” to claim less Universal Credit. Johnson said: “My preference, my strong strong preference, and I believe this is the instinct of most people in this country, is for people to see their wages rise through their efforts – rather than from taxation of other people put into their pay packets, rather than welfare.”

This is classic “on yer bike” rhetoric from Boris who seems to have completely rolled over for the Chancellor’s austerity drive. Rishi Sunak has often been tipped to be the next Tory leader, despite having a tin ear and mediocre political instincts. He has pushed for this cut, and in the same week he refuses to budge on withdrawing welfare for the poor the BBC reports he has been granted planning permission for a swimming pool, gym and tennis court at his North Yorkshire home. It’s alright for some.

As the Chancellor receives the good news of approval for the construction of an outdoor tennis court, wildlife area and a stone swimming pool building in his grade II listed house in his Richmond constituency, Tory Ministers have insisted its right to reduce benefits after lockdown. Although no assessment of its impact on the six million Universal Credit claimants has been carried out.

According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, it will affect more than one in three working-age families with children in over 400 constituencies – 191 of these seats are Conservative and 43 were won at the last election or subsequent by-elections, hardly a great way of repaying constituencies that turned blue. The biggest impact will be felt in Yorkshire and the Humber, the North East, North West, and West Midlands so once again the government talks of levelling up before levelling down.

The temporary uplift of Universal Credit was introduced last year as a support measure during the pandemic and was extended in March. Anti-poverty groups have urged the government to retain the uplift and warn that millions of families could be left with less than half the income required for an acceptable standard of living.

How can the government possibly “build back better” or “level up” if it prioritises cutting financial support for the poorest people in society in the early stages of the post-pandemic recovery? This cut is likely to drive people into poverty, many of them already in work, and exacerbate the existing homelessness crisis, as well as increasing food bank use.

The charity Citizens Advice estimates the cut could drive 2.3 million people into debt including almost half of claimants in “red wall” battleground constituencies. Their research suggests that the average budget shortfall facing claimants in areas such as Redcar and Stoke-on-Trent would be £55 a month, pushing them into debt and driving up food bank use.

Last month, the Northern Research Group. (NRG), representing around 50 MPs called on ministers to keep the uplift in place. This week, two more Conservative MPs wrote to Boris Johnson urging him not to press on with the planned cut. Peter Aldous and John Stevenson said the £20-per-week increase should be made permanent.

In the letter, the MPs, who represent constituencies in Suffolk and Carlisle, said they had “very serious concerns” about the ability of low-income families to make ends meet if the top-up is removed. And they said they were “alarmed to see the government unwilling to heed the widespread warnings that are coming from all quarters” about the impact on living standards.

The letter read: “Our central promise at the last election, that you articulated so well, was to level up.

“Infrastructure is a crucial part of this agenda, but with the emphasis solely on eye-catching projects we are at risk of forgetting the importance of investment in people in these communities, without whom this vision cannot be realised.”

They told Mr Johnson that the £20-a-week boost is “one of our best legacies from the pandemic” and the investment must continue, they added.

Self-preservation should motivate Boris into preventing this cut that will impoverish people in the Red Wall and worsen regional equality which he has pledged to improve. The fallout is likely to give Labour a lot of political ammunition and generate bad press as the consequences seep in. The ‘nasty party’ are back, they will say, the party of the rich making the poor poorer  and forcing low income workers to pay the deficit.

Labour is already looking at an overhaul Universal Credit by introducing a ‘taper rate’ allowing low-income workers to earn more without having their welfare cut. It’s part of their envisioned “new deal” for working people and a wider overhaul of the social security system. The Conservatives are gifting the opposition ideas that may come back to haunt them.

The pandemic has increased the wealth gap between the rich and poor, which is already a major setback to Boris Johnson’s pledge to “boost the country’s most disadvantaged areas” and his promise of a “a fairer, stronger society – one where, whatever your background and wherever you live, everyone can access the opportunities they need to succeed.”

If his rhetoric mean anything, and many would say it doesn’t, it’s time he reconsidered implementing a contradictory policy that impacts the poor when they are at their most vulnerable at time of economic fragility and social uncertainty.