MP Claudia Webbe urges the government to abandon Universal credit cut as more than 89,000 Leicester families set to be impacted 

New data shows some Leicester constituencies could be some of the worst-hit in the region. 

An MP is urging the government to abandon its planned Universal Credit cut as the change date looms.

On October, 6, the temporary £20 uplift, which was introduced to support claimants through the pandemic, will be scrapped.

For many families in Leicester, the extra £20 has been a lifeline.

A total of 89,590 families will face cuts to their income when the change is introduced, figures show.

New data, published by the think tank, Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) shows that more than 400 constituencies in the UK are set to see over one in three working-age families with children affected.

On average 21 per cent of all working-age families in Great Britain will experience a £1,040-a-year cut to their incomes on 6 October, according to the data.

Claudia Webbe, the MP for Leicester East, said: “The planned cut to universal credit demonstrates the utter cruelty of this government and of the super-rich.”

The MP’s Leicester East constituency, along with Leicester West and Leicester are in the top four in the East Midlands with the highest number of families who will be impacted by the change – and the top three in Leicester.

In Leicester East, 15,350 working-age families will be badly impacted, of which 64 per cent have children.

She said: “Families in my constituency of Leicester East will feel the harshness of this cut at a much higher rate than many other areas of the UK. I will continue to oppose this heartless policy every step of the way.”

The income cut will also hit 15,440 working-age families in Leicester West – which has the highest number of families in receipt of Universal Credit or Working Tax Credit.

A further 14,950 families will be affected in Leicester South.

The JRF has warned that taking away the uplift would be the biggest overnight cut to the basic rate of social security since World War II.

“The economic crisis caused by the pandemic will cast a long shadow and government support must continue to reflect this reality.

“Yet rather than tax big business and the super-rich, this government is determined to ensure that the post-covid recovery falls hardest on the shoulders of the poorest.”

She added: “The government must act now to prevent the further impoverishment of working people and their families.

“Ultimately, the notion of cutting Universal Credit must be abandoned – instead it must be increased until it is replaced with a more universal and generous system, funded by taxes on the ultra-rich.”

Claudia Webbe MP is the member of Parliament for Leicester East. You can follow her at www.facebook.com/claudiaforLE and twitter.com/ClaudiaWebbe

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