THE SCOTTISH Tories have been blasted after they abstained on a vote to extend the £20 Universal Credit uplift - despite saying they were in favour of it.
Douglas Ross claimed the Commons vote - which wasn’t binding - was nothing more than a “political stunt”.
The uplift was introduced last year to help families during the coronavirus pandemic, but is due to come to an end in April.
The motion was put forward and by Labour, and supported by the SNP, the Lib Dems and a handful of Tory rebels, passing by 278 votes in favour, with no votes against recorded.
However, as it was an opposition day motion it has no power to compel the government.
Earlier, Boris Johnson compared Labour’s decision to force a vote on the uplift to Donald Trump encouraging supporters to ransack the Capitol.
In a WhatsApp message to his MPs, the Prime Minister said Keir Starmer’s party were “inciting the worst kind of hatred and bullying” by “playing politics” with “legislatively vacuous opposition debates”.
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Starmer later branded Johnson “pathetic”.
“If the prime minister is going to call it a ‘stunt’ he should probably come with me to the food distribution centre this morning and explain to me why he thinks that what’s a lifeline for them is a ‘stunt’. It certainly isn’t from their point of view” Starmer told ITV’s Lorraine programme.
Johnson’s press secretary, Allegra Stratton, later told journalists no decision has been made about whether to keep the uplift.
“MPs are being told to abstain because today is not the day when we will be announcing our next steps on the £20 Universal Credit uplift,” she said.
“This is an opposition day debate. It is them making families up and down the country concerned they will not be able to get the food they might need during the February half-term, when that is not true.
“Labour is pulling a political stunt because they know that children who could go hungry during the February half-term will not go hungry because of the policy that is in place.”
She said Chancellor Rishi Sunak will shortly provide more information what he’s going to do next.
There are suggestions the Treasury is considering giving Universal Credit claimants a one-off payment of £500 instead of extending the uplift.
Sunak is said to be concerned that not cutting the £20 in April could then make it permanent.
Speaking ahead of the vote, Douglas Ross explained why he and the party were abstaining.
He said: “The Scottish Conservatives have argued for months that the Universal Credit uplift, which has helped nearly half a million people across Scotland alone, should continue.
“The Labour Party business will not achieve that, and we can see this is already being used as a political stunt, which helps no one. We will continue to engage constructively with the UK Government and we hope the upcoming budget will see a positive outcome from our lobbying.”
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SNP Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Neil Gray said it was “shameful” that the Scottish Tories abstained: “If Douglas Ross had any shame at all he would be utterly embarrassed that the supine six Scottish Tory MPs are putting the incomes of millions of people at risk by following Boris Johnson’s orders again - while rebel Tory MPs in Wales and England are defying him.”
He added: "Scotland shouldn’t have to wait for Westminster to act. The only way to secure a strong, fair and equal recovery is for Scotland to become an independent country - with the full powers needed to build a fairer society.”
Yesterday, a report published by the Resolution Foundation said the uplift has been critical in protecting the poorest households from the worst economic impacts of Covid in 2020.
It warned that refusing to extend it could lead to another 730,000 children living in poverty.
Karl Handscomb, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, said the outlook for many families next year was bleak.
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