“We will lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty by scrapping the 2 child limit & benefit cap. “
Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Corbyn has announced Labour will scrap Universal Credit, calling the flagship Tory welfare reform “inhumane” and “unmitigated disaster”. The announcement was widely welcomed by campaigners, trade unions and others, with Unite’s Len McCluskey saying “This is such welcome news. Unite has campaigned tirelessly to stop universal credit but we know that only a Labour Government will end the misery and suffering caused by the cruelty of this Tory Government and its brutal benefits regime.”
‘Real Britain’ columnist in the ‘Daily Mirror’ Ros Wynne-Jones meanwhile said these proposals “could restore humanity, decency and replace welfare benefits with a return to social security. Imagine for one moment living in that kind of world.”
It has also been revealed that in government, Labour will immediately end the worst aspects of Universal Credit, including by:
- Ending the benefit cap and the two child limit, which alone will stop up to 300,000 children being pushed into poverty;
- Immediately suspending the punitive sanctions regime, which has been ineffective at supporting people back to work and has instead pushed people into poverty and reliance on foodbanks;
- Ending Universal Credit’s “digital only” requirement, which excludes people who cannot access the internet or are not computer literate, and recruiting 5000 additional advisors to deliver this change;
- Switching to split payments and fortnightly payments, including an automatic interim payment to end the five week wait.
As well as scrapping Universal Credit, Labour will replace the Department for Work and Pensions with a Department for Social Security, marking a radical shift from a system that “punishes and polices” people to one where social security will support people in finding work and treat them with “dignity and respect”.
As Jeremy Corbyn said, “Universal Credit has been an unmitigated disaster. As well as being behind schedule and over budget it is inhumane and cruel, driving people into poverty and hardship.“
“The Tories told us that Universal Credit would make work pay, but we have seen the opposite. More and more people who are falling into poverty have jobs, and more and more children who are growing up in poverty are living in working families.”
Margaret Greenwood MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, added, “Labour will scrap Universal Credit, put an end to the benefit cap and create a social security system that, just like our NHS, treats people with dignity and respect and is there for any one of us in our time of need.”
