The uk government actions increasing poverty and expanding inequality - we can do better. — scottish national party

I have launched a campaign to stop the UK government from ploughing ahead with the Universal Credit crunch that could push half a million more people in the UK into poverty – 200,000 of

which are children. I am urging the prime minister and the chancellor to use their summer recess to consider the damage their decision to axe the £20 Universal Credit uplift in October will

have on the six million households who currently benefit from it. Not only will it slash millions of incomes by over £1,000 per year, but it will also wipe out the positive impact the

Scottish Child Payment has on families in Scotland. > Research by @jrf_uk confirms that Tory refusals to make the £20 > Universal Credit uplift permanent mean: >  > 🔎 500,000 

pushed into severe poverty > 🔎 50% living below the poverty line >  > And yet, Boris Johnson simply doesn’t care. #PMQs #KeepTheLifeline > pic.twitter.com/CHugsADJQP >  > —

 The SNP (@theSNP) October 7, 2020 The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has said it will be the biggest overnight welfare cut since the Second World War – and it is set to come at a time when

people are still reeling from the economic impact of the pandemic and Brexit, which has seen people lose jobs and income, right on the back of a decade of Tory austerity measures. I, along

with my SNP colleagues, will be using this campaign to remind the Tory government daily over the next two months of the devastating impact their plans will have if they go ahead with them.

The Tory government tells us they want to “level up” – and the chancellor said last year when the coronavirus pandemic began that he would do “whatever it takes” to support us through this

crisis. > ✂️ The Chancellor is set to repeat the mistakes of the past with > a colossal austerity cut to social security. >  > The Tory quest to slash spending will result in 

prolonged misery. > Rishi Sunak’s #UniversalCreditCrunch will only hamper our economic > rebound.https://t.co/c6hGWqKYT2 >  > — David Linden MP (@DavidLinden) July 29, 2021 If

Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak do not want this to be another case of hollow rhetoric and be responsible for plunging hundreds of thousands of families over the brink, then they must u-turn

on their decision and, instead, make the £20 boost a permanent fixture within Universal Credit, and extend it to legacy benefits. The UK already suffers from the highest poverty levels and

worst inequality in northwest Europe, and nearly one in three children currently live in poverty – 700,000 more than in 2012. Scrapping the £20 uplift will only exacerbate that. It would be

truly devastating for our society if the Tory government ploughed ahead with plans knowing this. > 🚨 The UK has the highest poverty rate in North West Europe. >  > 🔎 The UN said a 

decade of austerity resulted in "tragic social > consequences" – with over 600,000 children pushed into poverty > under Tory rule. >  > 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Let's take a 

different path with > independence. https://t.co/bkLETLnJTB pic.twitter.com/LxpStbfLgZ >  > — Yes (@YesScot) July 15, 2021 And in Scotland, these plans will serve as another example

of the SNP Scottish government putting money in people’s pockets through the Scottish Child Payment and the Tories taking it away again. Instead of dragging our efforts backwards, the UK

government should be taking steps to tackle poverty and inequality – not make it worse. It is crucial that the Tory government wake up to this reality, or the responsibility for families and

children waking up to poverty and destitution overnight will lie squarely at their feet. I will continue to work with organisations and representatives across Scotland and the UK to do all

we can to stop this cut that could devastate so many livelihoods.