24 October 2023
- Call to reform Universal Credit, scrap two-child benefit cap and introduce wealth tax to tackle ‘inequality crisis’
Following the publication of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s report into destitution in the UK [1], Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said:
“Thirteen years of Tory government has resulted in a catalogue of social, environmental and economic wreckage. And there can be no worse legacy than leaving almost four million people in destitution – a quarter of them children. This is an utterly shameful record for the sixth largest economy in the world and reveals that the UK faces a deep inequality crisis.
“But Labour is also failing to address inequality or offer hope to those struggling to meet their essential needs. Research shows that the two-child benefit cap impacts around 1.5 million children and their failure to commit to scrapping the policy leaves thousands of families impoverished. Likewise, their refusal to back a wealth tax will allow inequality to continue unchecked.
“Only the Greens offer the bold common-sense policies to transform our economy and people’s lives. We have long called for restoring the £20 Covid uplift to Universal Credit and doubling it to £40 per week, with equivalent increases for those on legacy benefits. This would raise the current rate from £85 per week to £125.
“The Joseph Rowntree Foundation is right: every family needs to be protected and to be able to afford essentials such as food and household bills. Ultimately, the Green Party supports the introduction of a no-strings-attached Universal Basic Income, funded through a more progressive tax system, including a wealth tax on the super-rich.”
Notes
1. https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/destitution-uk-2023
2. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jul/16/two-child-benefit-cap-explainer
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