The Government’s stalled bid to cut the national welfare bill has sharply divided opinion in Welwyn Hatfield.
Last month a political storm erupted after the House of Lords voted to delay the Government’s proposed changes to Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit, which critics fear will hit poor families hard.
Chancellor George Osborne has promised he will reconsider his proposals to be announced in his Autumn Statement on November 25, but the Government is also now reviewing the powers of the House of Lords, which it claims acted against the constitution.
Several Conservative MPs have spoked out against the Government, including Stevenage presentative Stephen McPartland, whose constituency includes Codicote.
THe morning after the vote, Baroness Hayman, once Welwyn Hatfield MP Helen Hayman, was interviewed about the row on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
She told the BBC: “This review must not be seen as punishment for the Lords, when the Speaker himself said that nothing procedurally improper had been done.”
For a range of local views on the proposed changes to tax credits, see this week’s Welwyn Hatfield Times, available in shops.
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