Update on Universal Credit

This afternoon, the government announced it will reverse some of the cuts to Universal Credit – the support for families that don’t get paid enough to get by.

Thousands of 38 degrees members, worried about the effect of the cuts on families who are already struggling, campaigned for these cuts to be scrapped. And while not abandoning the cuts altogether, the government will soften the blow to low-paid families.

Today’s announcement means some people receiving Universal Credit will be able to keep an extra 2p for every pound they make. It’s  not everything we hoped for – we had called for the work allowance, the amount of money you earn before your universal credit starts to be withdrawn to be restored to it’s original levels –  but this will make life a bit easier for thousands of families in the UK. It’s progress – and our pressure was vital in making it happen.

Together, thousands of 38 Degrees members piled the pressure on the politicians. A staggering 220,000 of us signed the petition. And we hit the news, making it clear to the politicians the scale of public opposition to the cuts.

Thousands more of us emailed our MPs, asking them to stand against the cuts. And when the government started to waver, we sent thousands of tweets to MPs – and one by one they called for the cuts to be reversed.

There are more moments ahead when we’ll need to push to make Britain fairer for everyone.  While today we didn’t achieve all we wanted, by coming together we did make a difference.

Knowing that together we have the power to make change happen, we will continue to hold the government to account. Right now, thousands of 38 Degrees members are calling on the government to scrap plans that would make it harder to receive support if you’re too ill to work. And thousands of us are demanding that a new Bedroom Tax isn’t forced on pensioners.

If you’re not sure how you’ll be affected to changes to Universal Credit, you can find out at Citizens Advice here.