This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20950691
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Government wins key vote on planned 1% cap on annual benefits rises | Government wins key vote on planned 1% cap on annual benefits rises |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The government has won a crucial vote in Parliament on plans to limit annual increases in working-age benefits to 1% for the next three years. | The government has won a crucial vote in Parliament on plans to limit annual increases in working-age benefits to 1% for the next three years. |
| MPs rejected a Labour bid to block the proposals by 328 votes to 262 after five hours of heated debate. | MPs rejected a Labour bid to block the proposals by 328 votes to 262 after five hours of heated debate. |
| Several Lib Dem MPs had said they would defy the coalition by joining Labour. | Several Lib Dem MPs had said they would defy the coalition by joining Labour. |
| Labour argues that millions of low-income families will be worse off but ministers say benefits should not be going up at a faster rate than wages. | Labour argues that millions of low-income families will be worse off but ministers say benefits should not be going up at a faster rate than wages. |
| Benefits have historically risen in line with inflation and, without any change, would have been due to go up by 2.2% in April. | Benefits have historically risen in line with inflation and, without any change, would have been due to go up by 2.2% in April. |
| But the government says that with public sector pay rises capped at 1%, a similar limit should apply to working-age benefits such as jobseeker's allowance, employment and support allowance and income support as well as elements of working tax credits and child tax credit. | But the government says that with public sector pay rises capped at 1%, a similar limit should apply to working-age benefits such as jobseeker's allowance, employment and support allowance and income support as well as elements of working tax credits and child tax credit. |
| The Lib Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable said the welfare budget could not be "insulated" from spending cuts that were needed to rebalance the public finances. | The Lib Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable said the welfare budget could not be "insulated" from spending cuts that were needed to rebalance the public finances. |
| Benefit recipients, he suggested, had done "relatively well" in recent years in comparison to working people on low incomes, many of whom who have seen their wages frozen and incomes fall in real terms. | Benefit recipients, he suggested, had done "relatively well" in recent years in comparison to working people on low incomes, many of whom who have seen their wages frozen and incomes fall in real terms. |
| "It seemed fair to us to distribute some of this pain in a more equitable way," he told the BBC News Channel. | "It seemed fair to us to distribute some of this pain in a more equitable way," he told the BBC News Channel. |
| Several Lib Dem MPs - including ex-minister Sarah Teather - said they would either vote against the government or abstain on the second reading of the legislation needed to implement the three-year cap. | Several Lib Dem MPs - including ex-minister Sarah Teather - said they would either vote against the government or abstain on the second reading of the legislation needed to implement the three-year cap. |
| But the BBC's chief political correspondent Norman Smith said the "comfortable" nature of the government's victory suggested there had only been a handful of Lib Dem rebels. | |
| Legislation needed to implement the cap for 2013-2016 must be approved by the Commons and the Lords. | |
| By approving the proposals at second reading on Tuesday by 324 votes to 268, MPs have ensured they come a step closer to becoming law. | |
| While backing the changes, Mr Cable criticised the language used by some Conservatives in the debate over welfare, in which supporters of the cap have sought to ally themselves with "strivers" against those unwilling to work, describing it as "appalling stuff". | |
| Labour has accused the government of trying to pit unemployed people against the low-paid while former foreign secretary David Miliband, speaking in the Commons, called the proposals "rancid". | Labour has accused the government of trying to pit unemployed people against the low-paid while former foreign secretary David Miliband, speaking in the Commons, called the proposals "rancid". |
| Shadow work and pensions secretary Liam Byrne said welfare spending had exceeded government forecasts by £14bn and ministers were opting to try and fill the hole by penalising working families rather than asking the wealthiest in society to pay more. | |
| An "impact assessment" of the proposals published by the government suggested single parents would be most affected by the cap - losing £5 a week or about £250 over the three year period. | |
| The majority of working age households in receipt of state support are likely be an average of £3 a week worse off. |