universal credit

Benefits and Poverty

October 11, 2018 0

Anger and dismay after Labour back-tracks on pledge to scrap universal credit

Labour has infuriated its own disabled members by backtracking on a public pledge by the shadow chancellor that the party would scrap universal credit if it won the next general election. John McDonnell drew widespread praise when he told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday that universal credit was a “shambles” and “iniquitous” and added:

Benefits and Poverty

Esther McVey speaking in the House of Commons

October 4, 2018 0

Tory conference: Charity’s silence on universal credit deaths, hours after minister announces £51m funding

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A charity has refused to criticise the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) over four deaths linked to universal credit, hours after a minister announced it would receive tens of millions of pounds to support claimants on the new benefit system. Work and pensions secretary Esther McVey (pictured) told the Conservative party conference on

Benefits and Poverty

October 4, 2018 0

Tory conference: Newton admits DWP needs to improve

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The minister for disabled people has admitted that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) needs to “make improvements” in order to increase disabled people’s “confidence” in the social security system. Sarah Newton told a fringe event at her party’s annual conference in Birmingham that “for lots of reasons” too many people were worried

Politics

September 27, 2018 0

Labour conference: De Cordova calls for a ‘Labour alternative’ to universal credit

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Labour’s shadow minister for disabled people has called on her party to come up with its own alternative to the government’s flawed universal credit benefit system. Marsha de Cordova (pictured) moved further this week than any of her shadow frontbench colleagues at Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool towards the idea of scrapping universal credit

Activism and Campaigning

September 27, 2018 0

Labour conference: Anger at party’s failure to pledge to scrap universal credit

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Labour is facing mounting anger from disabled anti-cuts activists over its refusal to call for the government’s universal credit benefit system to be scrapped. Much of the anger has been directed at shadow work and pensions secretary Margaret Greenwood, who instead of pledging to scrap universal credit – at Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool

Benefits and Poverty

Conference delegates watch a speech, with big screens showing the speaker

September 27, 2018 0

Labour conference: Members call on party to ‘stop and scrap’ universal credit

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Disabled Labour members have used the annual conference to demand that their party calls on the government to scrap its “toxic” universal credit benefit system. Labour’s position has been to call on the government to stop the rollout of universal credit – which merges six working-age benefits into one – and to “fix” it.

Benefits and Poverty

A banner showing the deaths of people due to sanctions and benefit cuts

September 20, 2018 0

DWP’s secret benefit deaths reviews: Investigations into deaths double in two years

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The number of secret reviews carried out by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) into deaths linked to benefit claims appears to have doubled in the last two years, according to figures the information watchdog has forced the government to release. The figures relate to the number of internal process reviews (IPRs), investigations

Benefits and Poverty

Hundreds of white flowers lying on grass

September 20, 2018 0

DWP’s secret benefit deaths reviews: Universal credit death linked to claimant commitment ‘threats’

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A secret Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) review into the death of a claimant of universal credit (UC) has criticised the “overtly threatening” nature of the conditions they had to accept when signing up to the new benefit system. The conclusion by a panel of civil servants relates to just one of 33

Benefits and Poverty

Stephen Lloyd sitting at a table watched by passers-by

September 20, 2018 0

Lib Dem conference: Universal credit migration is set for disaster, warns Lloyd

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The impact of the “migration” of hundreds of thousands of disabled people onto universal credit from next year could prove disastrous because of the “hoops” the government will force claimants to leap through, according to a disabled MP. Stephen Lloyd, work and pensions spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, said the migration process was set

Benefits and Poverty

Dave Allan speaking in front of a screen saying stop and scrap universal credit

September 20, 2018 0

TUC piles pressure on Labour with vote to scrap universal credit

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Trade unions have voted at their annual congress to call on the Labour party to shift its stance on universal credit and promise to scrap the controversial benefit system. The annual TUC Congress approved a motion last week that had already been passed by disabled trade unionists at May’s TUC Disabled Workers’ Conference. The

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