HE claims he has been "up and down the country" – but the UK Minister of State for Employment just admitted he hasn't bothered to visit Scotland as part of the flagship Universal Credit roll out.
In the Commons, SNP MP David Linden asked Alok Sharma when he planned on visiting Glasgow to hear what local housing associations have to say about the welfare reform – but it turned out the minister hadn't even made it north of the Border yet.
📹 When I challenged him earlier today, the Employment Minister apologised that he hasn’t been to Scotland yet, then tells me he's been "up and down the country". 🤦🏻♂️
— David Linden MP (@DavidLinden) October 16, 2018
Watch me take him to task over the roll-out of #UniversalCredit in Glasgow 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/haPgFJxIPP
"Mr Speaker I apologise if I haven’t been to Scotland yet," Sharma said above jeers in the Chamber. "I hope I will put that right in near time."
Unaware of the hole he was digging for himself, the MP for Reading West continued. "But I have been going up and down the country to job centres talking to them and I have to say to him that it is working. Universal credit is working."
Scottish Twitter was quick to respond to Sharma's comments.
He's been up and down HIS country. That's what matters. Mind you, the Tory definition of "working" and ordinary people's definition of "working" are bound to differ, given the distance between the planets they live on.
— Dr TrisPriceWilliams (@tristanpw1) October 16, 2018
Not been to Scotland but been up and down the country 🤦♂️ 🙄Think we all know which country this uk minister is focused on!
— Dave Trotter (@fendercali) October 16, 2018
Maybe he realises Scotland will soon be independent. The country he went up and down was England.
— Alistair McGregor 🐝 (@gregalach) October 16, 2018
It's not been a smooth week for Universal Credit. First it was announced that the system, which was supposed to be up and running by April 2017, was facing yet more delays – and now the man implementing it seems to have forgotten the geographic makeup of the UK.
The new welfare reform rolls six benefits into one and has faced harsh criticism since it was first announced eight years ago.
Its roll out has drawn even more controversy, with MPs across party lines calling for it to be scrapped amid reports of five-week delays to claimants' initial payments. The new system is expected to lower the incomes of 3.2 million people, according to The Resolution Foundation.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here