Millions on Universal Credit to lose hundreds of pounds under Rishi Sunak cuts
Rishi Sunak tonight threatened to whisk hundreds of pounds away from millions of desperate families struggling on Universal Credit.
Speaking while attending the G20 summit in New Delhi, the Prime Minister refused to commit to inflation-proof benefit rises next year, arguing that payments had already gone up by a “huge amount”. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is thought to be considering a real-terms cut this autumn. Payments usually rise each April by the inflation figure of the previous September – expected to be 6.9%. But the Government is looking at a lower figure, leaving 6.1 million on UC worse off.
A rise 1% below inflation would result in a low-income working couple with two children losing £220. Asked if he could guarantee benefits continue to rise with inflation, Mr Sunak declined but insisted he would “make sure we look after the most vulnerable”.
He added: “Benefits this year have gone up by 10%. On average, that would be £600 for a typical person on UC, over £800 for the state pension. We've helped with energy bills support this year, we provided cost-of-living payments. There's lots of different ways to get support to people who need it.”
Katie Schmuecker of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation last night said: “Our levels of benefits are already completely inadequate and anyone who suggests cutting their value further is clearly out of touch with the reality of life in the UK right now. Every person who does a supermarket shop or pays bills knows the cost of essentials is still going up quickly - and that is what people on lower incomes spend most of their money on.”
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Labour said: “This is speculation and kite-flying from the Government. Instead, let’s look at their record: 24 tax rises, a decade of stagnant economic growth and people left worse off.”
Liz Truss last year considered no longer increasing benefits in line with inflation, but dropped her plan following widespread condemnation.
At the G20 summit yesterday, Mr Sunak held talks with India’s PM Narendra Modi as he tried to make progress on a trade deal.
The PM has been joined on the trip by his wife Akshata Murty, who is the daughter of Indian billionaire Narayana Murthy.
He paid tribute to her, saying: "I love her very much and it's lovely to have her on a trip, because candidly we don’t get to spend much time with each other. The most time I get to spend with her these days is when she gets to sit on a plane with me.... obviously part of these trips is building personal relationships with other leaders. There are lots of things that go into building those personal relationships, including how we interact with other people’s spouses."
Mr Sunak, who has reshuffled his Cabinet five times since he became PM last October following a series of sleaze scandals, yesterday suggested he could hold another switcharound before long. Asked if his current frontbench are the team he will take into the General Election, he said: “I never comment or talk about reshuffles.”
The PM, who has flirted with scrapping environmentally friendly policies in recent weeks, insisted he still wants to go green. “The net zero story for me shouldn't be a hairshirt story of giving everything up and your bills going up,” he said. "That's not the vision of net zero that I think is the right one for the UK.”
The members of the G20 are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, the US, as well as the EU.
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