6. Plaid Cymru Debate: Universal Credit

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:06 pm on 15 September 2021.

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Photo of Joyce Watson Joyce Watson Labour 5:06, 15 September 2021

It's been just an amazing insight into the other benches today. I just want to say one thing. They talked about HGV drivers and training them, well, I just want to say this to you: by the time you've trained an HGV driver, the food will be rotten in the lorry. Just a thought for you to think about, that's all, and I thought it might be useful to help you in that deliberation.

But I want to ask a few questions. We all know that removing a £20-a-week lifeline is cruel, but I want to ask a question: what did the UK Government think the people were spending that £20 a week on, that they no longer need now? Did they think that it might have been for food, for rent, for heating, for clothing for their children? I have to ask this question, because if they did think that that's what people were spending that £20 a week on, why is it that they think they don't need it now? Is it the intention of the Prime Minister, of course, to do what the Tories always do and blame the poor, yet again? And we've seen evidence over here this afternoon—for being poor. Does he recognise that key workers are receiving this very small lifeline? Those key workers that you went outside to clap, those are the people you're taking this £20 a week from. And the Tories do have a good history, of course, of removing things from people. They put the bedroom tax in so that they removed the right for people to have two bedrooms. They failed to give women their pensions on time, but claimed that they did it. They also just last week decided that the wealthy don't need to pay for healthcare, because they put the rise on national insurance. Who is paying that, I ask? But also, the healthcare that that NI rise was intended to cover had absolutely nothing to do with COVID, but had everything to do with 10 years of austerity.

So, you've brought the country to its knees, and now you want to bring people to their knees. But you won't be happy in doing that, of course, because you're going to blame those people—those very people you will be depending on to fill those shelves, once we've trained those HGV drivers, of course, and the food isn't rotten—you'll be taking the money out of their pockets. And the Resolution Foundation has said that those claiming universal credit will have to work nine hours a week to make up for the £20 shortfall. It's a pity that the work and pensions Secretary, who thought it was only two hours, hadn't read that brief first, because she clearly didn't understand that 63 pence in every pound would be reclaimed. She couldn't even do simple maths, for goodness' sake. It's an absolute insult. This is an absolute insult. And to claim that you can't afford it and to actually agree that you can't afford it is somewhat baffling. I notice that Stephen Crabb, today, has come out and said that it is a shameful thing to do. I would be very interested to know whether his colleague, Paul Davies and some of you from this bench agree with that.