George Osborne faces more tax credit pressure
Pressure is building on chancellor George Osborne to reconsider his plans to slash tax credits, with Labour and Conservative MPs alike attacking the proposals ahead of an expected “fatal motion” in the House of Lords.
MPs debated the tax credit cuts in the House of Commons yesterday, with new Tory MP Heidi Allen drawing attention for accusing government of “betray[ing] Tory values”.
The opposition’s motion was defeated, 317 to 295, but it is looking increasingly likely that the bill could be torn up in the House of Lords, as Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron confirmed yesterday that he was urging his party’s peers to back a cross-party effort to stop the new law.
The government is defending the proposed cuts, saying they are part of a £15bn annual savings package.