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Letter: Benefit cap is fair to everyone
This week’s vote in the House of Lords to water down the Government’s long overdue welfare reforms – the centrepiece being a cap on welfare payments of £26,000, which is supported in the latest polling by 76 per cent of voters – was extremely disappointing.
It only happened because of the actions of a few rebel Liberal Democrats and Labour peers who back the policy “in principle”, but were unwilling to do the right thing in practice.
Labour left the welfare system in a mess, with too many people better off out of work and on benefits, than if they entered the world of work.
It’s not fair that benefit claimants can receive higher incomes than families in Peterborough and across the country who are in work, in some cases more than double the average household income.
That’s why the Government is introducing a cap on benefits – so that no family can get more on benefits than the average family does by going out to work.
The benefit cap will not affect the disabled or those who work and receive working tax credits.
There is no reason for anyone to be made homeless by Coalition Government reforms when they can still receive the equivalent in benefits that someone in work would have to earn £35,000 a year to make (that’s 50 per cent more again than the average salary in the city).
The cap is an essential measure to restore fairness to our welfare system while ensuring that support goes to those who need it.
Ed Miliband claims Labour support a cap. If he is serious, he should have backed the Government by supporting the benefit cap in full, and opposing all amendments to water it down.
This was a test of his leadership – is he committed to setting out a credible economic plan or are his words just posturing from a weak leader?
No wonder Labour are not trusted to run the economy.
Stewart Jackson
MP for Peterborough
What do you think?
Contact our news team by email news@peterboroughtoday.co.uk, telephone 01733 588719, on Twitter - @peterboroughet or use our Have Your Say form
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Weather for Peterborough
Saturday 26 May 2012
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Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
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