“Families in Plymouth deserve support during this crisis, not cuts”
MPs have backed a Labour motion calling on the government to extend a temporary increase in Universal Credit
Last updated 19th Jan 2021
MPs have voted to extend a £20-a-week Universal Credit uplift to millions of families.
The motion pushed by Labour was approved by 278 votes to zero - as Conservatives were ordered to abstain.
However, the motion is not binding and the Prime Minister has refused to guarantee he will not end the extension in April.
Only one Plymouth MP voted in favour of Labour's call.
Luke Pollard, for Sutton and Devonport, said the £20-per-week cut is the 'equivalent cost of the average family's annual electricity, gas and internet bills combined'.
Plymouth's Conservative MPs, Johnny Mercer and Sir Gary Streeter, fell in line with the majority of their party by not voting.
Only six Conservatives voted for Labour's motion: they were former Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb, Education Committee chairman Robert Halfon, Jason McCartney, Anne Marie Morris, Peter Aldous and Matthew Offord.
Child Poverty Action Group has stated the £20 uplift is essential to ensure 'low-income families with children receive the support they need'. While the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has warned that the cut could see another 200,000 children pushed into poverty.
"The Government must change course on their plan to cut £20 a week from Universal Credit. With a third of Plymouth’s children living in poverty this cut will make it harder for thousands of families in our city to make ends meet.
"Families in Plymouth deserve support during this crisis, not cuts."
Luke Pollard - MP for Sutton and Devonport
The prime minister said the government had provided £280 billion worth of support during the pandemic but all measures would be kept under 'constant review'.
In Plymouth, the total number of households on Universal Credit as of August 2020 is 21,580.