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| Cameron responds to Question Time tax credits complaint | Cameron responds to Question Time tax credits complaint |
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| The prime minister’s spokesman has been forced to respond to a woman who appeared on Question Time in tears over the government’s decision to cut tax credits by £4.5bn. | The prime minister’s spokesman has been forced to respond to a woman who appeared on Question Time in tears over the government’s decision to cut tax credits by £4.5bn. |
| Addressing the energy and climate change secretary, Amber Rudd, who was a panelist on the programme, audience member Michelle Williams said: “I voted for Conservatives originally because I thought you were going to be the better chance for me and my children. You’re about to cut tax credits after promising you wouldn’t. | |
| “I work bloody hard for my money to provide for my children to give them everything they’ve got and you’re going to take it away from me and them. I can hardly afford the rent I have to pay, I can hardly afford the bills I’ve got to do, and you’re going to take more from me,” she said, adding: “Shame on you.” | “I work bloody hard for my money to provide for my children to give them everything they’ve got and you’re going to take it away from me and them. I can hardly afford the rent I have to pay, I can hardly afford the bills I’ve got to do, and you’re going to take more from me,” she said, adding: “Shame on you.” |
| On Friday morning, the prime minister’s spokesman said: “The point that the prime minister and government is trying to get across here is that it’s important that you see that the changes we are making in tax credits are part of an overall package of changes, which are designed to ensure that we push wages up.” | On Friday morning, the prime minister’s spokesman said: “The point that the prime minister and government is trying to get across here is that it’s important that you see that the changes we are making in tax credits are part of an overall package of changes, which are designed to ensure that we push wages up.” |
| Related: Government accused of covering up negative impact of tax credit cuts | Related: Government accused of covering up negative impact of tax credit cuts |
| He said later: “It’s worth remembering with tax credits... that they have increased over the years and so the spend on tax credits has gone up and up and up and if we’re going to tackle the overall welfare budget and try and move us away from being a high welfare country to a low welfare country, then this is something we have to look at.” | He said later: “It’s worth remembering with tax credits... that they have increased over the years and so the spend on tax credits has gone up and up and up and if we’re going to tackle the overall welfare budget and try and move us away from being a high welfare country to a low welfare country, then this is something we have to look at.” |
| Asked whether the prime minister would be making an appointment to meet the woman and explain his reasoning to her, Cameron’s spokesman said: “The prime minister meets with people from all different walks of life all the time.” | Asked whether the prime minister would be making an appointment to meet the woman and explain his reasoning to her, Cameron’s spokesman said: “The prime minister meets with people from all different walks of life all the time.” |
| The House of Commons has approved the cuts to tax credits, with only a handful of Conservatives rebelling against the measures. However, there is unease on the government benches about the number of low earners who will lose out and the fact they will be told about the scale of the cuts to their benefits just before Christmas. | The House of Commons has approved the cuts to tax credits, with only a handful of Conservatives rebelling against the measures. However, there is unease on the government benches about the number of low earners who will lose out and the fact they will be told about the scale of the cuts to their benefits just before Christmas. |
| Cameron has insisted that a typical family with parents working full-time on the minimum wage will be £2,000 better off as a result of a host of changes once the increase in the minimum wage is taken into account. | Cameron has insisted that a typical family with parents working full-time on the minimum wage will be £2,000 better off as a result of a host of changes once the increase in the minimum wage is taken into account. |
| But the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Resolution Foundation say the welfare cuts in Osborne’s summer budget will leave some of Britain’s poorest families up to £1,300 a year out of pocket. Paul Johnson, the director of the IFS, has said it is “arithmetically impossible” for workers not to lose out from the cuts. | But the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Resolution Foundation say the welfare cuts in Osborne’s summer budget will leave some of Britain’s poorest families up to £1,300 a year out of pocket. Paul Johnson, the director of the IFS, has said it is “arithmetically impossible” for workers not to lose out from the cuts. |