London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 19, 2025

Rishi Sunak: £20 universal credit top-up always temporary

Rishi Sunak: £20 universal credit top-up always temporary

The chancellor has reiterated the £20 uplift to universal credit will be scrapped as it "was always intended to be a temporary measure".

Campaigners say the payments, worth around £1,000 a year, have stopped some from falling into poverty.

Labour's leader Sir Keir Starmer said taking the payments away was "simply wrong in principle".

The decision has also been criticised by prominent Conservatives.

Universal credit is claimed by more than 5.5 million households in the UK.

It was introduced to replace six benefits and merge them into one benefit payment for working-age people.

The £20 top up was extended by six months in March and Labour has called for it to continue beyond the autumn.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Mr Sunak said the uplift was part of "things we put in place to deal with the crisis" of the pandemic, adding "those things will come to an end, much like the furlough scheme".

He said the uplift had only been "one part of our overall package of support" for people, adding that the government's plan of getting people back into work "is working".

"Those on the lowest incomes have seen the most support from the government, but going forward, my view and the government's point of view is the best way to help people is to help them into work and make sure those jobs are well paid", he said.

But former Conservative work and pensions secretary, Iain Duncan-Smith, said the "government needs to think again".

"This uplift simply restores what was in initially intended for universal credit", he said.

He told BBC News the benefit "isn't just an unemployment benefit...it's a back to work benefit," adding "it's a bit short sighted to say we're just going to withdraw it."

Sir Iain is one of six former Conservative work and pensions secretaries who wrote to Rishi Sunak this week to urge the government to continue with the extra £20 a week payments.

On Wednesday, the Work and Pensions Secretary, Therese Coffey, told MPs that the payment boost, introduced during the pandemic, would face an "adjustment".

Ms Coffey said the change had been a "collective decision" by ministers.

Therese Coffey told MPs of the planned changes during a committee session on Wednesday

Speaking to the Work and Pensions Committee, she said: "Ahead of October we will start communicating with the current claimants... to make them aware that will be being phased out and they will start to see an adjustment in their payments".

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer claimed the proposal would hit six million families.

He said the cut "amounts to around £1,000 a year for them, and is the difference between paying the bills and not being able to pay them."

He admitted that keeping the extra payments "would have tax implications," saying "tax raises may well be part of the answer to this."

He said Labour was working on their policies for "social security reform - a fully costed offer to the British people."

Paul Johnson from the Institute for Fiscal Studies said up to a quarter of the working age population are entitled to some universal credit.

"It will be a big shock for people who've got used to what has been a really significant increase in their benefit levels.

"Particularly for those who are childless, this is a very large fraction of their total income, if you're out of work and childless, you're probably only getting around £80 a week," he told BBC Politics Live.

Triple lock changes


The chancellor has hinted that the government could end the triple-lock on state pensions, as he faces pressure to rule out a predicted 8% rise next year.

Mr Sunak admitted there were "concerns" over the government's pension triple lock - which increases state pensions in line with the rising cost of living seen in the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure of inflation, increasing average wages, or 2.5%, whichever of those three is highest.

Official forecasts suggest that the link with earnings growth could mean the bumper rise in the amount paid from April 2022, and could cost the government £3bn than previously expected.

He said a decision on pensions would be "based on fairness for pensioners and for taxpayers".

The government spends around £100bn on the state pension every year, just over 10% of all government spending.

Sir Keir Starmer he said there was an "anomaly this year" causing an 8% rise, but this shouldn't be used by the government to "break their commitment to the triple lock".


If official forecasts are correct, the UK state pension could rise by 8% in April next year.

The triple lock policy means the amount paid to pensioners rises in line with the highest of inflation, 2.5%, or average earnings.

It is the last of these three which is predicted see a big jump owing, in part, to furlough's effect on calculations.

Hence, Chancellor Rishi Sunak is being pressed on whether the manifesto promise to pensioners will stay.

His answer? The decision will be "based on fairness for pensioners, but also for taxpayers".

But fairness is difficult to quantify.

The UK state pension is one of the least generous in Europe. Many women have had less opportunity than men to build up other pension income. Life expectancy is so low in some areas that people living there may see little of retirement.

That is why some are calling for an overhaul of the entire system of pensioner benefits, not a short-term reaction to an unusual set of circumstances.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
×