Today, Liz Kendall announced Dramatic cuts to benefits and they have already prompted backlash from charities and trade unions, who have described them as “immoral” and “indefensible”.
Liz Kendall said the changes would create “a more proactive, pro-work system for those who can work”, while protecting those who cannot.
Liz Kendall has been forced to deny claims the government is trying to “balance the books on the backs of disabled people”.
Louise Murphy, Senior Economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “The package of measures announced in today’s Green Paper should encourage more people into work.
“But any living standards gains risk being completely over-shadowed by the scale of income losses faced by those who will receive reduced or no support at all – irrespective of whether they’re able to work.
“Around one million people are potentially at risk of losing support from tighter restrictions on PIP, while young people and those who fall ill in the future will lose support from a huge scaling back of incapacity benefits.
“The irony of this Health and Disability Green Paper is that the main beneficiaries are those without health problems or a disability. And while it includes some sensible reforms, too many of the proposals have been driven by the need for short-term savings to meet fiscal rules, rather than long-term reform.
“The result risks being a major income shock for millions of low-income households.”
Pitting poorest against the poorest
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The government is in danger of making the wrong choices. We must be protecting the most vulnerable in society and not pitting the poorest against the poorest.
“Before cutting benefits, the government should be introducing a wealth tax, so that the very wealthiest in society begin paying their fair share.
“The principle of getting people back into work is right but we need joined up thinking to ensure we are creating jobs and training for people to go into. That is about investment in manufacturing and creating jobs for the future. Over a third of people on benefits are already in work, we need to ensure that work pays for everyone.”
Tweet
Rewind to 2016 and she wrote on Twitter: “A #budget that was decent & fair would not slash £590m from the disabled & hand a £630m capital gains tax cut to the wealthy few next year.”
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