Tax credits retreat: George Osborne means to hurt ordinary people, no matter what
The determination of Conservative Government ministers to hurt UK citizens is breathtaking – literally, in the case of the many who have died as a result of Tory policies.
Having been put off cutting tax credits and raiding Universal Credit, Osborne is now said to be considering another attack on Housing Benefit. He just won’t give up, will he?
Meanwhile, Iain Duncan Smith’s supporters are claiming the latest climbdown means the Gentleman Ranker’s position is secure. The secretary-in-a-state over work and pensions had threatened to resign if Osborne had gone through with his plan to increase the Universal Credit ‘taper’ rate.
And there’s nothing more disgusting than smug Tories celebrating.
Mark these words: Whatever happens, ordinary people will suffer because that is what Tories enjoy.
George Osborne is said to be plotting cuts to target housing benefit to pay for his climb down on tax credits.
The Chancellor is desperately looking for welfare cuts elsewhere after being forced to rethink the £4.4billion cuts to working tax credits .
Allies of Iain Duncan Smith claim they have seen off an attempt by the Treasury to raid the universal credit to cover the cost.
The Work and Pensions Secretary had indicated he would resign if Mr Osborne targeted his flagship universal credit scheme.
The Chancellor is said to have backed off from the plan which would have seen the amount of each pound claimants could earn on top of their benefits cut from 35p to 25p – a taper rate of 75p.
He is now reported to be planning deeper cuts to housing benefit to pay for his £12billion welfare cuts.
Allies of Mr Duncan Smith claimed he had “won the day.”
Source: George Osborne ‘targets housing benefit’ to pay for tax credits retreat – Mirror Online
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I do wonder whether this is an instance of the chancellor supposedly being forced to do what he wanted to do from the start. My nightmare was that he would state he was forced to cut disability benefits as he had no other choice. I’m allways suspicious when I see the Sun criticising their preferred Tory party leader. That noted cuts to housing benefit will hit the working poor. The point is that there is no economic need for these cuts at this point in the nation/world’s economic cycle, as professor Simon Lewis-Wren et al. have been stating for sometime.
shaunt
Ultimately attacking Housing Benefit is worse than cutting Tax Credits because if Universal Credit flies Housing Benefit will be subsumed into Universal Credit meaning that both the non-working AND the working poor will end up with less Universal Credit than they should have. Which is worse than cutting Tax Credits because with benefits frozen the non-working poor, e.g., unemployed, carers, sick and disabled claimants etc., who cannot benefit from rising wages will end up much worse affected than the working poor. Which of course will doubtless please Osborn and most Tory MPs.
With ever rising rents this could be disastrous for many.
When it comes to “winning the day on decency and fairness” they are both losers; BIG losers.
What’s to say without resorting to foul language. IDS has won! F***ing game to them s****ing on people’s lives! Sorry could not stop myself.
so IDS brings the culling of the poor to his acceptable rate of death, and objects to Osborne making it higher, how is that winning the day when they are both still murdering people
Somehow having IDS in a sentence referring to honesty and fairness is an oxymoron.
Although moron and IDS in the same sentence has a logic to it that’s inescapable.
shaunt
Total scum,!. They can’t leave the poor (OR the pigs) alone, are the tories committing a form of treason?