UK to ditch Universal Credit hike as Johnson readies to offer 'high skill, wage' economy

On Wednesday, the UK government will be wrapping up its £20-a-week increase to Universal Credit, coinciding with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s speech addressing the Conservative party conference. As per BBC, in the conference, Johnson is expected to tout his government as “dealing with the biggest underlying issues of our economy and society.; problems that no government has had the guts to tackle before.”

The £20-a-week increase to Universal Credit is reportedly claimed by over 5.8 million people in England, Scotland and Wales. It was unveiled to support the people on low incomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. As per the Sputnik report, as the UK is already tackling surging prices of food, fuel and tax, the decision to wrap up Universal Credit has raised concerns about leaving out a huge number of working households from the crucial lifeline. 

At the peak of the Coronavirus pandemic, in March 2020, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government had announced an uplift to Universal Credit as well as the working tax credits worth £20 for each week. In simpler terms, Universal Credit is a benefit for the working-age people with money directly paid into the bank accounts of the claimants each month in England and Wales. There is also an option of receiving the money every two weeks in Scotland and Northern Ireland. 

However, the Boris Johnson-led government is under pressure to keep the uplift to Universal Credit. Sky News stated that UK PM is facing calls from lawmakers and protesters to cancel the planned cut to the mount. During PMQs on Wednesday, Sir Keir Starmer called on the British PM to “cancel the cut” and added that “millions of working families will be hit hard” by the scheme. 

‘We have the guts to change’

Meanwhile, UK PM is set to promise that his government will be showing more “guts” than any other administration before as it works in dealing with the issues facing society and the economy. BBC stated that in his Conservative party conference speech, Johnson will vow to move the entire country towards a high-wage and high-skill employment. The upcoming speech is also the first to the massed Conservative faithful since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

"After decades of drift and dither this reforming government, this can-do government that got Brexit done, is getting the vaccine rollout done and is going to get social care done," Johnson will say, as per the report. "We are dealing with the biggest underlying issues of our economy and society, the problems that no government has had the guts to tackle before."

Image: AP