Failure To Reinstate the Universal Credit Uplift a ‘Moral Stain’ on the UK

Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader and Senedd Member Jane Dodds has described the UK Conservative Governments’ decision not to restore the universal credit uplift as a “moral stain on the UK”.

The £20 universal credit uplift was scrapped by the Conservatives last autumn, with an estimated 280,000+ people across Wales affected, 37 per cent of which are those in work.

The typical Welsh family on Universal Credit will be hit by Rishi Sunak’s tax rises and benefit cuts in addition to a 10% rise in food bills and a 50% or above rise in heating costs.

As of yesterday (April 11), benefit claimants and pensioners have seen their payments fall to the lowest level in 50 years, with money-saving expert Martin Lewis warning that the UK could experience “civil unrest” later this year if the UK Government refuses to act.

Commenting Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader and Mid & West Wales Senedd Member Jane Dodds said:

“The decision not to reinstate the universal credit uplift is having a devastating effect in Wales and the Welsh Liberal Democrats will continue to campaign for it to be reinstated.

“We have families who are working two jobs but on universal credit who are unable to afford to feed themselves.

“People’s lives are being completely ruined because of this. People’s physical health and mental health are being placed at serious risk. One out of three children in Wales already grow up in poverty and the UK Government is making it worse. It is utterly shameful.

“The UK is the 5th largest economy in the world. It is a moral stain on our country that the Conservatives and Rishi Sunak are choosing to allow so many vulnerable people to fall through the cracks.

“At the same time, he is raising taxes and cutting benefits, Sunak’s family has avoided paying an estimated £20 million in UK taxes.

“This Conservative Government is out-of-touch, incompetent and lacking in basic empathy. It must be booted out at the next general election and the upcoming local elections will be a chance for voters in Wales to express their dissatisfaction with the way things are going.”