Local Labour MP fails to vote against welfare cuts which will hit thousands of local residents
Local Labour MP Catherine West failed to vote against controversial welfare cuts which are estimated to affect 16,500 residents in Haringey.
The Conservative Government announced a range of cuts to working age benefits that are expected to affect 16,500 local residents in Haringey. In parliament last week the Welfare Bill to introduce these cuts was voted through. Catherine West, Labour MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, abstained and failed to vote against the cuts, in contrast, all Lib Dem MPs voted against the proposed cuts.
Recent analysis has estimated that in Haringey:
- The four year freeze on working age benefits means 16,500 Haringey residents and their families will lose an average of £260 per year.
- This includes 5,600 working people whose families will have to make up an average £280 shortfall per year in tax credits.
- 1930 residents in the ESA work related activity group (Employment and Support Allowance), considered only temporarily too ill to work, will lose a further £30 per week as their allowance is brought down to the level of Job Seekers Allowance (JSA).
Cllr Gail Engert, Haringey Lib Dem Leader of the Opposition, comments:
“These cuts will mean big reductions in income for the poorest Haringey residents, particularly those who are too ill to work and those who work but are unable to make ends meet. I’m sure many local residents in Hornsey and Wood Green will be very disappointed that their local Labour MP failed to vote against the cuts.
“Every Lib Dem MP voted against these welfare cuts and we’re now seeing the Conservatives jump at the chance to implement all those measures that the Lib Dems stopped them from doing when in the Coalition.
“The Conservative Government is forcing those already struggling to make ends meet to shoulder a massive £12bn saving and Labour should have voted against it like the Lib Dems have done.”
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