Protesters gather in Sheffield to call on Government to end Universal Credit

Protesters from the Stop and Scrap Universal Credit group gathered outside Sheffield Town Hall on Wednesday to call on the Government to put a halt to the controversial benefits system.

The Government argue Universal Credit simplifies the benefits system by replacing six income-based benefits with one monthly payment.

But Martin Mayer, secretary of Sheffield TUC, said the system just didn’t work and called on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to use this week’s budget speech to bring it to an end.

He said: “They have talked about paying back the Labour heartlands that voted for them at the last election.

“If they are serious about ‘levelling’ up they have every opportunity to do something about the extreme poverty they put people in.

“The first thing they should do is address the poverty of those who are least well off in our society.”

Martin said figures from the Resolution Foundation showed that most families were worse off under Universal Credit, some by as much as £2,400.

And he said features of the benefit like the monthly payments, an initial five-week for money and a punitive sanctions regime were making it impossible for people to make ends meet.

He said: “The Universal Credit system definitely reduces the benefits from where they were before.

“I don’t know what planet they are living on but the people who live on Universal Credit have no money or almost no money and they can’t survive five weeks.

“I was never in this position, fortunately. I worked all my life and I am now retired and have a pension but I can’t stand by and see that happen in our poor communities.

“We should be ashamed of ourselves.”

In the budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced some temporary changes to Universal Credit in relation to the coronavirus outbreak, but made no changes to the overall system.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: “Universal Credit replaces an out-of-date, complex system, and provides a vital safety net for more than 2.8 million people who are out of work or on low wages.”