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Labour leader says he will scrap Universal Credit

Published 17:09 8 Oct 2021 BST

Updated 17:39 8 Oct 2021 BST

Ava Evans
Labour leader says he will scrap Universal Credit

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Starmer said Universal Credit 'traps people in poverty'

Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer has said his party would scrap Universal Credit altogether.  Speaking on BBC Breakfast this morning (October 8), Starmer said: “What we would do in the long term is actually replace Universal Credit, because one of the problems with the system we’ve got at the moment is that it traps people in poverty." Starmer said Labour would keep the Universal Credit uplift until a better system could be put in place. “We would replace the system with something that worked and allowed people to keep more of the money they earn.” Asked how he would pay for the new system, Starmer said: “Don’t tell me the money isn’t available,” pointing towards the “billions” wasted on crony contracts and Johnson’s proposed “vanity yacht”. Scrapping Universal Credit has been a Labour policy since September 2019, when Jeremy Corbyn was leader. Starmer’s predecessor held a rally in Iain Duncan Smith’s constituency where he called the Tory welfare reform “inhumane” and an “unmitigated disaster.” Iain Duncan Smith introduced Universal Credit as Work and Pensions Secretary in 2013. On Wednesday (October 6), the Tories ended the £20-a-week uplift granted to claimants during the pandemic.  A move so controversial, even Iain Duncan Smith said the government should “pause” and rethink its decision.  When asked on Friday (October 8) if he agreed with the cut, Labour leader Starmer accused the Government of “effectively turning on the poorest in our society.” He said families “desperately need that uplift in Universal Credit to make ends meet”. Under a Labour Government, he said: “It would stay, we wouldn’t make the cut, we would then replace it with something better.” Related links: