Esther McVey admits some families will be worse off on Universal Credit

The work and pensions secretary, Esther McVey, has admitted some families will be “worse off” under universal credit. These comments contradict the Number 10 who have said Universal Credit will not adversely affect people who are able to access it. This week it was reported that she told a cabinet meeting that half of lone parents and about two-thirds of working-age couples with children would lose around £2,400 a year. This comes after Gordon Brown and Sir John Major warned...

Conservative Government’s new Suicide Prevention Minister made jokes about suicide

During yesterday’s PMQs Theresa May announced the Government had appointed a suicide prevention minister, the first time this role had been introduced in the UK. It has now emerged that the new minister, Jackie Doyle-Price has made jokes about suicide. She had previously told a newspaper in her Thurrock constituency, that she would rather jump off Beachy head (a notorious suicide spot) than defect from the Tories to UKIP. The comments were made back in 2014 after Douglas Carswell had...

Trump’s visit to UK cost the police nearly £18m

The National Police Chiefs’ Council have said that the US President’s four day trip to the UK cost almost £18m The police used thousands of officers, over four force areas, to ensure his safety during his visit. This show of force was the biggest mobilisation since 2011, when London, and other cities, faced large scale rioting. NPCC chair Sara Thornton said: "Nearly every force supported the operation with nearly 10,000 officers deployed from all over the country, performing over 26,000...

John Major becomes second PM in less than a week to criticise Universal Credit

Sir John Major has become the second former Prime Minister in less than a week to criticise Universal Credit, warning the Conservative Party could run into the same problems they had with  poll tax in the late 1980s. Riots broke out across Britain under Margaret Thatcher’s tenure in protest against the Community Charge (colloquially known as the "poll tax") which were considered regressive taxes that shift the tax burden from the rich to the poor. And the same arguments are...

£1tn wiped off public sector since 2008 leaves UK public finances among weakest in world

An IMF report has concluded that the UK’s public finances are some of the worst on the planet. Since the banking crash of 2008 nearly £1tn has been slashed from the public sector, which is 50% of GDP. Bailing out the banking sector and public sector pension liabilities hugely contributed to the poor state of the UK’s public finances. Of 31 countries only Portugal was in a weaker position. The Gambia, Uganda and Kenya rank above the UK. Norway ranked...

Universal Credit could lead to Poll Tax scale riots, says Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown has warned that Universal Credit could lead to civil unrest, akin to the Poll tax riots. The Labour grandee will predict “a return to poll tax-style chaos in a summer of discontent.” The Thatcher administration introduced the poll tax in 1990 and it caused major rioting and it was one of the main reasons that her leadership came to an end. He will say at a speech in Edinburgh: “Surely the greatest burning injustice of all is children...

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