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THE Conservative Party descended into chaos yesterday, with Tory MPs attacking George Osborne’s proposed cuts to tax credits.
The rebellion against the Chancellor’s flagship policy was led by Heidi Allen, who attacked it in her maiden speech after she could “sit on her hands no longer.”
South Cambridgeshire’s new MP passionately denounced her party’s “single-minded determination” to cut £4.4 billion from working tax credits.
Her plea echoed the concerns of influential Tories such as Lord Tebbit and Boris Johnson, who have also called for the policy to be changed.
Ms Allen said: “I worry that our single-minded determination to reach a budget surplus is betraying who we are.
“Today, every Conservative member who knows who we really are has a duty to remind those who have forgotten.”
She added that the policy was “not a spreadsheet exercise,” but that MPs were “talking about real people.”
Her contribution to the debate was welcomed by Labour MPs who had already urged those worried about the measure to support the opposition’s early day motion.
In a letter to non-Labour MPs, shadow treasury minister Seema Malhotra MP said: “This issue transcends narrow party lines, as surely none of us came in to politics to take money away from low and middle-paid workers.
“If left to go ahead, the changes will make people significantly worse off the length and breadth of the country, hitting thousands of people in every constituency.”
It is estimated that child poverty will severely increase as a result of the cuts, as 3.2 million poorly paid workers stand to lose an average of £1,350 next year.
Even free-market economics supporters have come out against the cuts, with Institute of Economic Affairs head of public policy Ryan Bourne calling the policy “flawed.”
He added: “It’s true that it’s impossible to save money without taking from some, but broader reform could have avoided damaging incentives in this way.
“Instead, the government used populist rhetoric about ‘taxpayers subsidising employers’ and introduced a misguided national living wage to mask changes which will discourage work and harm many low-paid workers.”
The house was still heatedly debating the issue as the Star went to press.
