Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

'Britain heading for biggest cut since World War II'

'Britain heading for biggest cut since World War II'

WITH upcoming Universal Credit cut, England is heading for the biggest cut to the basic rate of social security “since the creation of the welfare state at the end of World War II”, experts have warned, adding that workers in south-west England will be hardest hit with some half a million Britons might be pulled into poverty.

The reversal of the £20-a-week uplift in universal credit – introduced at the outset of the coronavirus lockdown last year – is estimated to cost £1,040 a year for some of Britain’s poorest families, including many in low-paid jobs, experts have claimed.


The planned cut to the incomes of around six million families will be a huge shock, said Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), warning that half a million more people are set to be pulled into poverty, including 200,000 children.

Claiming the cut as “the biggest overnight cut to the basic rate of social security since the Second World War,” Katie Schmuecker, deputy director of policy for the JRF warned ministers against “ploughing ahead with a cut despite knowing it will be devastating for millions of families".

Another analysis by Trade Union Congress (TUC) claimed that low-income Britons living in south-west England will be worst affected by the £20-a-week cut later this year.

Highlighting that more than four in 10 universal credit claimants in the south-west have a low-paid job, the trade union body said that the region from Cornwall to Gloucestershire will be badly affected. 

TUC report also revealed the impacts on individual parliamentary constituencies, revealing that the prime minister Boris Johnson’s west London Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat has 38.4 per cent people on credit while UK chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Yorkshire constituency of Richmond has nearly half, 48 per cent of people receiving universal credit are in work.

Labour leaders, welfare charities and some Tory MPs have criticised the idea of Universal Credit cut, saying that millions of people will still be in precarious jobs in October and unable to cope financially after a cut in benefits of more than £1,000 a year.

More For You

Sunita-Williams-Reuters

Sunita Williams was part of the SpaceX Crew-9 mission and had been stranded in space for over nine months. (Photo: Reuters)

Reuters)

India looks amazing from space, says Sunita Williams

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams described India as "amazing" from space and expressed her intention to visit her "father's home country" to share her experiences on space exploration.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, she responded to a question about how India appeared from space and the possibility of collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Keep ReadingShow less
british-muslims-iStock

The study noted that this identification was not due to any doctrinal obligation but was influenced by the perception that many Muslims do not feel fully accepted as British. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Majority of British Muslims identify by faith first, study finds

A STUDY by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) has found that most British Muslims identify primarily with their religion rather than their nationality.

The research, based on a survey of 815 British Muslim adults by Whitestone Insight, revealed that 71 per cent of respondents identified as Muslim first, while 27 per cent identified as British, English, or Scottish first.

Keep ReadingShow less
Car Tax Changes: EV Owners Now Required to Pay for the First Time

Owners of electric vehicles registered on or after 1 April 2025 will pay £10 for the first year, followed by the standard VED rate of £195 from the second year. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Car tax changes take effect: EV owners to pay for first time

FROM today, 1 April 2025, electric cars, vans, and motorcycles in the UK will be subject to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for the first time.

The change, introduced in the 2022 Autumn Statement by former Conservative Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, aims to make motoring taxation fairer.

Keep ReadingShow less
scotland-minimum-wages-iStock

Full-time workers on the National Living Wage will receive an annual pay increase of £1,400 in real terms. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Wage increase takes effect for thousands of workers in Scotland

HUNDREDS of thousands of workers in Scotland will see a pay increase as new National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates take effect from Tuesday.

The changes will benefit approximately 220,000 people, according to STV News.

Keep ReadingShow less
uk-energy-bill-iStock

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

April bill increases put financial strain on single parents

A RANGE of essential household bills are increasing from April, with Citizens Advice warning that single parents will be among the hardest hit.

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased, BBC reported.

Keep ReadingShow less