The Chancellor was challenged over the Government’s decision to cut Universal Credit payment by £20, back the pre-pandemic rates. In front of the Treasury Committee, Rishi Sunak was grilled by Labour MP Angela Eagle about whether the amount Universal Credit recipients are now set to receive was fair.
Mr Sunak told MPs: “Do I think the tax cuts we’re doing are progressive?
“Yes, I do, we started back in October by cutting the taper rate in Universal Credit vary significantly from 63 percent to 55 percent.
“That’s a 2 billion pound tax cut improvement in the generosity of Universal Credit, that disproportion benefits those on the absolute lowest incomes.”
Mr Eagle fired back: “Do you think Univeral Credit is generous!?”
Mr Eagle told the Chancellor: “I mean to some of them, you’ve made a political choice to plunge 1.3 million people in your 4 million children into absolute poverty.
“On the figures we have now that is what you’ve chosen to do in your Spring Statement.
Mr Sunka replied: “No, what I what I’ve chosen to do is ameliorate, on average a third of the impact on living standards from forces that are clearly outside of my control, global in nature.
“We’ve come up with a package that is progressive in the way it’s been designed and crucially will not add to the inflationary pressures in a significant way, which would harm the very people that we care about and we want to make sure that we do care for and have put in place specific support to help them.
“He was acting in his own interest because he thinks by offering an income tax cut in two years that’ll help him politically with Conservative MPs if there’s a leadership contest or that’ll fit the Tory election grid.
“I don’t believe that putting 1.3 million people into poverty because you’re imposing a very severe real-terms cut to universal credit, you’re imposing the biggest cut to the pension in 50 years, is fair.”
“He is a tax-raising Chancellor, he is Mr Tax and it’s the British people who are paying the price.”
Treasury minister Simon Clarke told MPs high inflation “will be reflected” in the benefits uprating figures for April 2023, which will be calculated in September, if the current forecasts come to fruition.
Be the first to comment