Kim Johnson, Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, has posted her displeasure to social media following the Spring Statement by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
Kim Johnson's statement on the Spring Statement:
Austerity 2.0 is here - and it's a choice.
Today's Spring Statement confirms our worst fears. Cuts to PIP and Universal Credit will devastate my constituents. I've already received panicked calls and emails from people who simply don't know how they'll survive.
In Liverpool, we know the reality of austerity, poverty, and government neglect. We've lived through it before - and now, under a Labour government, it's back.
This assault on disabled people and those in need of support is nothing short of sadistically cruel. To pursue policies indistinguishable from the cruelty of Tory austerity is not cost-cutting; it is a false economy that will devastate many.
Cutting support or reducing eligibility won't push more people into work it will only push more people into poverty. The reality is stark: 77% of people claiming Universal Credit and disability benefits have gone without essentials in the last six months. These cuts won't just cause hardship, they will cost lives.
I will be voting against any government legislation to enact these changes - I cannot support measures that will make our most vulnerable poorer and widen inequality across the country. I am committed to fighting for a society that prioritises welfare not warfare, and where no one is left behind.
Kim Johnson MP
Speaking up for Liverpool Riverside
https://twitter.com/KimJohnsonMP/status/1904926680927322319
