Boris Johnson has been accused of ‘abandoning millions’ to poverty this winter with benefits set to be slashed from Wednesday.
The £20-a-week Universal Credit uplift, which was introduced to help people get through the pandemic, will be scrapped this week.
But with national insurance set to rise, food prices on the up and household energy bills soaring, the move will lead to ‘hardship’ for families, a leading charity has warned.
It comes as the leaders of the UK’s devolved nations have taken the rare step of joining forces to publicly call on the prime minister to change his mind.
Ministers have repeatedly defended the cut, saying the rise was only ever meant to be a temporary measure.
In 35 parts of Britain, at least half of working-age families with children will be hit by the removal of the £20-a-week uplift, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) said.
The worst-hit areas include Newham, in east London (64% of working-age families affected), Leicester (62%) and Manchester (61%).
Its new analysis also shows the cut will have the most severe impact in Yorkshire and the Humber, the North East, North West and West Midlands.
More than a third of people in receipt of Universal Credit are also in work but can’t make ends meet on low wages alone.
Katie Schmuecker, JRF deputy director of policy and partnerships, said the decision is set to plunge half a million people into poverty and shows a ‘total disregard for the consequences’.
She said: ‘The prime minister is abandoning millions to hunger and hardship with his eyes wide open.
‘The biggest ever overnight cut to social security flies in the face of the government’s mission to unite and level up our country.’
She added: ‘The prime minister cannot say he has not been warned, he must abandon this cut.’
The uplift started to be phased out last month and will be totally shelved from October 6, the same day Boris Johnson will address the Conservative party conference.
The move has been widely opposed, including by six former work and pensions secretaries, charities, think tanks, teachers and MPs across the political spectrum.
In a joint letter to Mr Johnson, Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon, Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford, and the first and deputy first minister of Northern Ireland, Paul Givan and Michelle O’Neill, said there was still time for a change of heart.
They warned: ‘Your government is withdrawing this lifeline just as the country is facing a significant cost-of-living crisis.
‘This winter millions of people are facing an untenable combination of increases to the cost of food and energy, rising inflation, the end of the furlough scheme, and an imminent hike to National Insurance contributions.
‘There is no rationale for cutting such crucial support at a point when people across the UK are facing an unprecedented squeeze on their household budgets.’
A Government spokesperson said: ‘We’ve always been clear that the uplift to Universal Credit and the furlough scheme were temporary. They were designed to help claimants through the economic shock and financial disruption of the toughest stages of the pandemic, and they have done so.
‘Universal Credit will continue to provide vital support for those both in and out of work, and vulnerable households across the country will be able to access a new £500 million support fund to help them with essentials over the coming months as the country continues its recovery from the pandemic.’
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