Letter: 4,640 In Guildford Face ‘Heartless Government’ Universal Credit Cut

Published on: 6 Sep, 2021
Updated on: 6 Sep, 2021

From Zoe Franklin

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesperson for Guildford, Cranleigh and our Villages

As many as 10% of hard-pressed families across Guildford face being left worse off when the government ends the uplift to Universal Credit next month.

Zoe Franklin

New data from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation exposes the true nature of how badly some areas will be hit by the £20 Universal Credit cut, which is opposed by me and Guildford Liberal Democrats.

In the report, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation estimate that the Universal Credit cut alone could force 500,000 people in the UK, almost half of them children, into poverty. Their breakdown shows that some 4,640 families in Guildford will be harmed by the government’s uplift cut, with 20% of families with children in Guildford being affected adversely.

Guildford has had to pull itself through this pandemic, whilst dealing with this incompetent and heartless Conservative government, and to add to the pain of many, this cut will do untold damage to so many local families.

There is no question that the government must reverse this needless cut and support ordinary working people here. Guildford Liberal Democrats are calling for the Universal Credit uplift to be made permanent. It is reported that the Prime Minister finds it hard to live on his £161,400 salary which comes with free accommodation and yet is happy to cut money paid to those who are struggling to cover the basics in life.