Tax credit cuts: Boris Johnson speaks out
London mayor hardens criticism of way cuts will be rolled out, putting him at odds with Tory leadership rival George Osborne (The Guardian)
Boris Johnson has hardened his criticism of the way the Conservative government is cutting tax credits, saying everything possible must be done to “mitigate and palliate” the loss of up to £1,300 a year for millions of families.
The London mayor’s decision to speak out against the way the cuts are being implemented puts him at odds with the chancellor, George Osborne, who is a potential rival for the Tory leadership once David Cameron steps down.
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Tory tax credit cuts will put 200,000 children into poverty in 2016, study finds (The Independent)
Conservative tax cuts to tax credits and other benefits will push 200,000 children into poverty next year, according to new research.
The study, by the Resolution Foundation think tank, comes a day after David Cameron promised an “all-out assault on poverty” in a speech widely seen as a grab for the centre ground of politics.
Why young people hate the jobcentre – or rather, the 'benefits processing centre' (The Guardian)
The YMCA travelled up and down the country this summer to speak to young people about their experiences of the job centre. Two things became abundantly clear. The first is that young people hate the service, feeling frustrated and dismayed at every turn. The second, that the jobcentre is simply not fit for purpose.
While there were some positive examples of helpful advisers, they were few and far between. Instead, the overwhelming feeling from young people was a disconnect from the services the jobcentre was supposed to supply. They spoke of their desire to find work and leave a life on benefits but said the jobcentre was doing little to help facilitate this transition.
Tory Conference 2015: What David Cameron said about poverty (The Independent)
David Cameron has given his keynote speech at the Conservative Party conference 2015 in Manchester.
‘Work your way out of poverty,’ Iain Duncan Smith tells disabled people (Metro)
The Work and Pensions Secretary said people on government handouts are not ‘victims’ and should not depend on state money to drag them out of poverty.
Talking at the Conservative party conference in Manchester, he said: ‘We don’t think of people not in work as victims to be sustained on government handouts. No, we want to help them live lives independent of the state.
Lidl reverses living wage decision for Northern Ireland staff
The supermarket chain Lidl will now include Northern Ireland staff in the pay rise it has awarded to workers in the rest of the UK.
Last month, Lidl said it would introduce the living wage which is £8.20 an hour or £9.35 an hour in London.
However, Northern Ireland staff were not included at the time, with Lidl saying this was due to the way its business was organised.