SNP EXPOSES HORRIFIC EXTENT OF TORIES’ UNIVERSAL CREDIT CUT ACROSS MIDLOTHIAN AND EAST LOTHIAN

SNP MSP FOR MIDLOTHIAN NORTH AND MUSSELBURGH, COLIN BEATTIE, BRANDS CALLOUS POLICY “A CRIME AGAINST DECENCY”.
 
Colin Beattie has blasted the Westminster Tory Government’s decision to strip 15,214 families in Midlothian and East Lothian of the £20 Universal Credit uplift as “a crime against decency”.
 
New research from the Scottish Parliament’s independent information service SPICe reveals 176,935 working households, 104,536 single parent households, 33,143 carer households, 11,887 households with disabled kids and a further 66,143 households with disabilities across Scotland will lose more than £1000 a year. 

And the figures expose the appalling scale of misery that this callous Tory decision will inflict on 7297households in Midlothian and 7917 households in East Lothian.
 
Commenting, Colin Beattie MSP said:
 
“This Tory government’s choice to inflict the biggest overnight cut to social security since World War II - hammering people both in and out of work – is a crime against decency.

“The sheer scale of misery they will inflict on 15,214 households across Midlothian and East Lothian is horrific. It will have a devastating impact on working families, single parent families, carer families and many others to find or stay in a job, stripping many of the ability to put food on the table or keep warm as we head into winter and with rising energy costs.
 
“The Tory decision to press ahead with this – with the support of their Scottish MPs – will also take much needed money out of the local economy when it is trying to recover from Covid. The Tories must rethink this inhumane policy.

"While the Scottish Government tries to combat deprivation with game-changing policies like the Scottish Child Payment, these efforts are being cancelled out by constant waves of Tory austerity.

"It is another clear demonstration of the tale of two governments in Scotland – with one at Westminster which cuts social security support during a global pandemic regardless of the consequences, and one at Holyrood which is tackling poverty head on through a range of actions including the Scottish Child Payment.”