Welfare Uprating Bill
Labour opposes benefit cuts: for now, anyway
Last night’s debate on the bill capping benefit rises at 1 per cent was far more revelatory than it might first have appeared. It wasn’t Labour’s conclusion that the Tories… Continue reading
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Former housing minister calls for review of benefit rises bill
The Welfare Benefits Uprating Bill returns to the Commons this afternoon for committee and remaining stages. As I reported last week, rebel backbench Lib Dems, the Labour front bench team… Continue reading
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Lib Dems and Labour to push for changes to benefits uprating bill
Round two of the row over rises in benefit payments is on the way, with Lib Dems and opposition parties tabling a series of amendments to the government’s legislation. I… Continue reading
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Ed Balls reverses over his own progress on fiscal responsibility
The battle-lines over the Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill — which faces its second reading in the Commons this afternoon — have been drawn. Labour has tied its opposition to the… Continue reading
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Tories make hay with Labour’s welfare stance
The Welfare Uprating Bill won’t fall into difficulty when it has its second reading in the Commons today, but with around five Lib Dem MPs expected to vote against or… Continue reading
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Sarah Teather dents the Coalition’s unity message by announcing her benefits rebellion
Coupled with Lord Strathclyde’s resignation over the way the Coalition worked in the House of Lords, Sarah Teather’s announcement that she will rebel against the government tomorrow is extremely poor… Continue reading
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In a preview of David Cameron’s 2013, Europe dominates his New Year interview
David Cameron’s New Year interview on Marr was dominated not by the economy but by Europe. In a sign of what the promise of a speech setting out his European… Continue reading
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Why the Tories aren’t worried about the benefit wars
The government has just published the Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill, and everyone’s pointing to polls which underline their own point about whether limiting the rise in benefits payments to 1… Continue reading
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Ed Miliband vs the working class
Who’s on the side of the strivers? Is it George Osborne, who’s cutting benefits in real terms for the next three years, which he defends as ‘being fair to the… Continue reading
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Why Ed Balls is so confident about benefit wars
The debate over benefit uprating will run and run because both sides think they are winning. George Osborne thinks the public resent generous benefits rises. Liam Byrne and Ed Balls… Continue reading
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Liam Byrne interview: The welfare system is ‘completely out of whack’
Liam Byrne is a modernising, Blairite Labour MP, and in case you were in any doubt about that, he conducts his interview with Coffee House sitting next to a framed… Continue reading
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Ed Balls says Labour will oppose the Welfare Uprating Bill
Ed Balls gave the clearest indication yet today that his party would vote against the government’s plans to cap benefit rises to 1 per cent rather than in line with… Continue reading
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Will he, won’t he? Ed Miliband makes noises about benefits war
Ed Miliband is ready to wage war with David Cameron and George Osborne over the Welfare Uprating Bill, which will see benefits rise by 1 per cent a year, rather… Continue reading
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