Middlesbrough & Thornaby East MP Andy McDonald said: “Today I could not support the pitting of Universal Credit claimants against each other, as this bill did, and was forced to vote it down.
“I supported the increase in UC standard allowance but could not accept it being funded by slashing incomes of the severely disabled, living in poverty, and reliant on UC health-related payments. The government’s own estimate is that 750,000 future applicants would lose access on average £3,000 each. These are people a majority of whom live in material deprivation.
“That’s what the bill did, and I voted against the introduction of a new significantly lower rate of Universal Credit health-related payments for future applicants from 2026. Once that measure was confirmed as part of the bill, I felt it was incumbent upon me to vote with my conscience and reject the bill as a whole.
“I am grateful that the campaigning work of many determined disabled people’s organisations and of many courageous campaigning MPs, and the government responding to them, which has seen the bill change significantly since it was first published.
“The postponement of cuts to Personal Independence Payments and the strengthening of the Timms Review, alongside the commitment to maintain the real terms value of universal credit health payments for current claimants, is welcome.
“But the bill as a whole, as with the Green Paper, began as an exercise in saving money rather than reforming welfare. The consultation on the Green Paper is insufficient. And a co-produced review should have been conducted on all payments, before cuts were implemented.
“I am confident I did the right thing in standing by my constituents in Middlesbrough & Thornaby East, and I can look them in the eye in future when they come to my surgeries, as I continue to do the best I can for them.”
The North East MPs who voted against were:
- Andy McDonald – Middlesbrough and Thornaby East
- Emma Lewell – South Shields
- Grahame Morris – Easington
- Ian Lavery – Blyth and Ashington
- Jonathan Brash – Hartlepool
- Kate Osborne – Jarrow and Gateshead East
- Mary Glindon – Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend
- Mary Kelly Foy – City of Durham
This article is based on a media release from the office of Andy McDonald MP
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