This week thousands of families will have their income slashed when the Universal Credit uplift is removed. This is being done at the worst possible time alongside the end of the furlough scheme and in midst of huge rises in food and energy prices.
There are many more families who are on Universal Credit than before the pandemic and half of all working age families with children will be affected by this. I am incredibly worried about how people will manage this winter.
Last week the Leader of the Labour Group in Southampton Satvir Kaur asked the Conservative Leader of the Council, Dan Fitzhenry whether he’d be able to put these families first and come together with the Labour Councillors to ask the Government to stop this cut.
Unfortunately he declined to do this. If more Conservative leaders across the country spoke up about the effect this cut will have on their constituents we might have been in with a chance of stopping it!