Conservative backbenchers, including former work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith, are gearing up to oppose £3bn of planned cuts to in-work benefits, signalling fresh pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May from within her own party. The cuts, part of the universal credit (UC) system, were legislated under George Osborne but have drawn renewed criticism ahead of Chancellor Philip Hammond's autumn statement.
MPs who led the backlash against Osborne's tax credit cuts last year are mobilising again. Heidi Allen, the South Cambridgeshire MP who confronted May at Prime Minister's Questions, told the Guardian: “MPs, lobby groups – we’re all girding ourselves for a campaign on this, and I won’t rest until I have tried my damnedest to get this at least softened.” She described the phased rollout of UC as a “ticking time bomb.”
Conservative MPs are particularly concerned about low earnings thresholds and steep withdrawal rates, which mean some workers keep only 24p of every extra pound earned. David Burrowes, the Enfield Southgate MP, said: “I share the concern that the changes to work allowances will mean that we do not yet have a welfare system where work always pays and too many people will be in work but in poverty.”
Allies of Duncan Smith say he is preparing to voice concerns that UC, which he championed, is now insufficient to incentivise work. His former aide Philippa Stroud suggested cancelling the planned increase in the tax-free personal allowance to fund more generous UC. Analysis by the Resolution Foundation thinktank indicates families would be £1,000 a year worse off under the cuts.
Damian Green, the work and pensions secretary, has ruled out seeking further welfare savings, but Whitehall sources insist the already-budgeted cuts will proceed. A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: “There are no plans to revisit the work allowance changes announced in the budget last year.”
