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John McDonnell says universal credit needs to be scrapped John McDonnell says universal credit needs to be scrapped
(about 1 hour later)
The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, has said universal credit should be scrapped following warnings that millions of families could lose as much as £200 a month under the reformed benefits system. John McDonnell has called for universal credit to be scrapped and accused Theresa May of falsely declaring an end to austerity amid reports that millions of families could lose up £200 a month when the new benefit is rolled out nationally.
McDonnell hardened the party’s position on universal credit in a television interview on Sky News, during which he also said that austerity was deepening contrary to claims Theresa May made in her party conference speech. The shadow chancellor hit back at the prime minister, who had claimed in a newspaper article that “the end is in sight” for the squeeze on public sector spending. McDonnell warned the benefits system was no longer providing a proper safety net.
“I think we are at that stage where it’s not sustainable any more. It’s not a system that can work, it’s not a system that is providing that safety net,” he said. Hardening the party’s position on the universal credit, McDonnell said in a television interview: “We’ve looked and looked, we can’t see that either government’s or other proposals could reform it. It’s in a shambles, and it’s actually iniquitous as well.”
According to weekend reports, Esther McVey, the work and pensions secretary, recently briefed cabinet colleagues that half of single parents and about two-thirds of working-age couples with children would lose the equivalent of £2,400 a year. According to leaks over the weekend, Esther McVey, the work and pensions secretary, recently briefed cabinet colleagues that half of single parents and about two-thirds of working-age couples with children would lose the equivalent of £2,400 a year.
McDonnell said: “We’ve looked and looked, we can’t see that either government’s or other proposals could reform it. It’s in shambles, and it’s actually iniquitous as well. To have government ministers being privately briefed that families are going to lose £200 a month, it’s just not acceptable.” That, McDonnell said, justified abolition. “Isn’t it ironic that we discover members of the cabinet are being briefed families are losing out £200 a month as a result of the roll out of universal credit?” he said, telling Sky News “there’s no end of austerity – quite the reverse.”
Brandon Lewis, the Conservative party chairman, struggled to address the issue of benefit cuts shortly afterwards in a BBC interview. The cabinet minister did not address the issue of financial impacts directly, and sought to defend the system more broadly. May had used her party conference speech last Wednesday to try and woo Labour votes with a hint that austerity would come to an end in the next public sector spending round between 2020 and 2023, although with the country’s post-Brexit economic prospects so unclear it was not certain how the government would pay for it.
“As you move onto universal credit, the system looks at the individual and comes up with an approach to somebody’s needs,” Lewis told BBC’s Andrew Marr. In response to May’s claims, Labour released a cluster of evidence that it said justified its position that austerity was far from over, including an analysis published in March this year by the Institute of Fiscal Studies that showed that 75% of the welfare cuts announced since July 2015 have yet to take effect.
He added that universal credit had been rolled out slowly in the UK – including his Great Yarmouth constituency – and the system was “getting more people into work in a sustainable way”. “Labour is the new mainstream, we are winning the public debate and our policies represent the centre ground of public opinion, which is why Theresa May wants to make it seem she’s adopting them,” a party spokesman added.
Regarding reports that many families would be £200 a month worse off, the Department for Work and Pensions said “it did not comment on alleged leaks”. When asked about the subject, Conservative party chairman Brandon Lewis did not deny the reports: “As you move onto universal credit, the system looks at the individual and comes up with an approach to somebody’s needs,” the cabinet minister told BBC’s Andrew Marr.
Lewis added that universal credit had been rolled out “very slowly and very methodically” – including in his Great Yarmouth constituency – and Lewis sought instead to defend some of its principles, saying it was “getting more people into work in a sustainable way”.
Labour has been edging toward advocating the abolition of universal credit, a complex system that merges six existing benefits into a single payment. At the party’s conference in Liverpool last month, McDonnell indicated that a review was likely to conclude that replacement, not reform, was the answer.
Lewis also hit back at McDonnell, challenging Labour to say how it would reform the benefits system, and noting that the shadow chancellor had advocated simplification of the sort intended by universal credit. “Of course he’s not able to outline what he would do exactly,” the Conservative chairman said.Lewis also hit back at McDonnell, challenging Labour to say how it would reform the benefits system, and noting that the shadow chancellor had advocated simplification of the sort intended by universal credit. “Of course he’s not able to outline what he would do exactly,” the Conservative chairman said.
Earlier, McDonnell had said a “root and branch examination of how we can go forward” was required and “the principle of bringing together benefits in one so it’s a much simpler system is something we all support, but this hasn’t done that”.Earlier, McDonnell had said a “root and branch examination of how we can go forward” was required and “the principle of bringing together benefits in one so it’s a much simpler system is something we all support, but this hasn’t done that”.
Labour has been edging toward advocating the abolition of universal credit, a complex system that merges six existing benefits into a single payment. At the party’s conference in Liverpool last month, McDonnell indicated that a review was likely to conclude that replacement not reform was the answer. On Sky News he went further. “You can’t save the thing, it’s got to go,” he said.
Sir Richard Dearlove, the head of MI6 between 1999 and 2004, had earlier told Sky News that he was concerned about Jeremy Corbyn.Sir Richard Dearlove, the head of MI6 between 1999 and 2004, had earlier told Sky News that he was concerned about Jeremy Corbyn.
“Someone coming from my background is troubled by Jeremy Corbyn’s past associations, some of which I find surprising and worrying. He may have abandoned them now, but I don’t think you can entirely, as it were, dump your past,” he said.“Someone coming from my background is troubled by Jeremy Corbyn’s past associations, some of which I find surprising and worrying. He may have abandoned them now, but I don’t think you can entirely, as it were, dump your past,” he said.
“He’s enthusiastically associated himself with groups and interests which I would not say were friends of the British nation.”“He’s enthusiastically associated himself with groups and interests which I would not say were friends of the British nation.”
McDonnell sharply dismissed Dearlove’s comments and described him as “a reactionary member of the establishment”.McDonnell sharply dismissed Dearlove’s comments and described him as “a reactionary member of the establishment”.
“Can I just say to him directly, I think he should spend his retirement in quiet contemplation of the role that he played with regard to the Iraq war where over half a million people at least were killed,” he said. “Can I just say to him directly, I think he should spend his retirement in quiet contemplation of the role that he played with regard to the Iraq war, where over half a million people at least were killed,” he said.
“He was strongly criticised as the head of an organisation whose intelligence took us into that war, so I think he should have a bit of humility about the judgements he makes about individuals and others in the future.”“He was strongly criticised as the head of an organisation whose intelligence took us into that war, so I think he should have a bit of humility about the judgements he makes about individuals and others in the future.”
Universal creditUniversal credit
John McDonnellJohn McDonnell
LabourLabour
Theresa MayTheresa May
Esther McVeyEsther McVey
Jeremy CorbynJeremy Corbyn
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