Osborne abandons tax credit cuts
It seems the Lords did us all a greater service than we knew
George Osborne has abandoned his plan to cut tax credits, meaning the Lords’ decision to block him has saved working families an average of £1,300 per year.
He adopted a nonchalant attitude in Parliament when he made the announcement, claiming that they are being phased out anyway – with the introduction of Universal Credit.
The Welfare Cap will be breached as a result, but he reckons it will be met in the later years of the current Parliament.
Can anyone spot the fly in this ointment?
It’s Universal Credit.
The introduction of this system has been extremely troubled and it remains unfit for purpose. By tying tax credits to the introduction of UC, Osborne is making a huge gamble – not least because he is relying on his rival Iain Duncan Smith.
We’ve had one major U-turn today; it seems we can look forward to another U-turn in the years to come.
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Well I never , the old Duffers have actually done something useful for once and about time too, took them long enough I have to say.
David Penson Bracknell
The fly in the ointment:-
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/474720/universal-credit-statistics-to-29-oct-2015.pdf
Tweeted @melissacade68
relying on Herr Smith and delivering Universal Credit, both already lame ducks, with the addition of a covert Osborne financial Trojan Horse within the delivery will make interesting developments.
he will now have to go after the sick and disabled especially those that live alone who are classed as invisible to claw that money back so for them it’s the death sentence
i just hope that those receiving tax credits are aware of the full facts and that others will lose their lives
i think probably not the tax credit groups of people were never aware of the loss of life of the sick and disabled in the first place and they wont be fighting their corner now that’s for sure
Good point Nick, be interesting to see if you”re right. I suspect you will be, it won’t generate the same publicity either.
The UC should of been scrapped since the Government had go back in its proven to have cost the Tax payers billions and there is no hope for it to be successful? IDS had threatened to resign shame that Osborne didn’t take him up on that offer…
so ‘Osborne admits that UC will plunge millions further in to poverty’
As a disabled person I campaigned against the tax credit cuts even though personally they wouldn’t have affected me. They were unfair. I hope people will campaign now against cuts to the disabled. We are all stronger together against this govt.
This is a humiliating climbdown for Osborne, said he would push through with his changes, now because his own backbenchers had a go at him, and not because of public outrage or the Paris attacks, he’s changed his mind and now isn’t going to, which all it does is make him look even more arrogant and weak than he already is, he wants to be leader and he knows that if his own lot don’t support him, he’s never going to get the nod from them, hence the back down, we’ll see if he is going to stand by what he’s promised, wouldn’t surprise me a few months down the line he changes his mind, watch this space! UC has been an utter disaster, what do you expect with IDS being in charge of it, it’s cost an absolute fortune and knowing the tories track record on pissing away fortunes, they’ll either get it up and running but costing even more than it should’ve done or scrapping it altogether, either way, it’s a complete waste of money and time!