Tory Mp Heidi Allen Wants Tax Credit Rethink

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34587836

This lady used her maiden speech to attack her own Party ! But if she is so concerned about the fate of poorer people in Britain, its a wonder that she is a Tory MP in the first place !

[fiction-factory]

I think it's wrong to assume that Tories are not concerned about poor people

[fiction-factory]

I think quite a few Tories are concerned about the speed of this change and the Lords may stop this going through

[Old_Geezer]

Indeed. It may be true, but it's wrong to assume it.

I guess all parties need a few dissenters to keep them rational.

[mikey4444]

FFF....despite what dave said recently, the Tories will never be the party of the working man !

[Svejk]

And you think Labour are? ha ha ha.

[fiction-factory]

No, but it doesn't mean they are not concerned about them- they just have a different view as to the best way to help them help themselves

[Svejk]

Don't forget, Nigel is coming to Swansea this Friday.

[Jomlett]

The Lords has been stopped from attacking Tax Credits and Heidi Allen voted FOR the tax credit changes two weeks ago.

[anotheoldgit]

/// Labour urged Tory MPs to back its motion calling for a rethink, but was defeated by 317 votes to 295, with no Conservatives voting against the government. ///

So it would appear that this lady still voted with her party.

[Colmc54]

I think that an in-work benefit that families have been counting on for a long time should be phased out and not summarily despatched with one fell swoop.

This is not a political point. It is only reasonable and rational.

[mikey4444]

Its seems to me that Ms Allen wants to make her mind up !

[mikey4444]

It appears that dave may not been entirely truthful, in the run-up to the Election in May....he said he wouldn't touch tax credits and now he is !

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/10/19/cameron-lied-to-voters-about-tax-credit-cuts-says-labour-mp_n_8329820.html

[Jomlett]

“An attempt by peers to kill off proposed cuts to tax credits has been rebuffed by the government” http://gu.com/p/4df8e/stw

[mikey4444]

Not enough worms turning it would seem Jomlett !

[New Judge]

“I think that an in-work benefit that families have been counting on for a long time should be phased out and not summarily despatched with one fell swoop.”

Quite agree, colmc. So where do you get the idea that they are being “summarily despatched with one fell swoop”? Have you read what is proposed? Or have you simply been listening to people like the lady on last week’s Question Time, who berated MP Amber Rudd for the Tory’s Tax Credit reduction proposal (and who, upon examination, it turned out would be scarcely affected by the proposals at all)? Either way, I’ll outline the main proposals for you:

From next April the level of earnings beyond which Tax Credits begin to be reduced is being lowered from £6,420 to £3,850. It is further proposed to restrict tax credit payments to the level received by those with two children. Additional payments will not be made for further children. However, this will not affect existing claimants. Only those having a third child after April 2017 will be subject to the change.

Whilst this will have some affect (which is, after all, what it is meant to do) it is not the wholesale reduction you suggest. The Tax Credit system has become unsustainable. When introduced it was forecast to cost £1.25bn pa. However, under Gordon Brown’s stewardship it ballooned and people earning as much as £66k were eligible for payments. It was said that nine out of ten families were in receipt. The cost is now £28bn pa and if left unchanged that will rise to £40bn in two year’s time.

It is particularly galling to some people that those working half a week have their wages topped up with the other half by the taxpayer. The way for those people to gain extra income is to work extra hours, not to expect to work half a day and receive a full day’s pay courtesy of people who are working 40+ hours a week. It needs to be curtailed. This is a small step in the right direction and, as has been noted, Ms Allen voted with the government.

The Lords will spark a constitutional crisis if they block this proposal. Whilst Tax Credits were not specifically mentioned there was a clear commitment in the Tory manifesto to curb welfare payments. Pages 25-27 of that document gives the details but here’s a brief extract:

“We will keep a check on the growth of welfare spending, enabling us to provide a system that is fair to those who need it, and fair to those who pay for it too…”

It is traditional that the Lords do not block measures contained in the government’s manifesto on which they were elected. It seems that these measure involve a “statutory instrument” and not primary legislation and so are not subject to the Parliament Act. However if the Lords do intervene it will throw the spotlight even brighter on that bloated institution.