British PM Sunak hints at benefits cut after ‘huge’ rise in welfare payments
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Mr Rishi Sunak is facing growing internal pressure from his governing Conservative Party to lower taxes ahead of a general election.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LONDON – Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said British welfare claimants saw a “huge” rise in their benefits in 2023, and signalled that a real-terms cut could be on the cards ahead of a general election.
He said he wanted to “reassure families” who receive benefits that he was “always going to make sure that we look after the most vulnerable”, after Bloomberg reported that he is considering a smaller increase than usual to welfare payments.
Mr Sunak is facing growing internal pressure from his governing Conservative Party to lower taxes ahead of a general election. But higher interest rates have wiped out fiscal headroom, leaving the government searching for savings elsewhere.
Options drawn up ahead of a fiscal statement on Nov 22 include breaking with the normal practice of lifting working benefits in line with inflation, people familiar with the plans previously told Bloomberg. The aim is to give Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt the maximum room to cut taxes in his spring budget, they said.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, where he is attending the Group of 20 summit, Mr Sunak did not contest the report. “Benefits this year have gone up by 10 per cent, which is a huge amount, obviously,” he said. That is equivalent to about £600 (S$1,020) for a typical person on Universal Credit, and more than £800 for the state pension, he added.
Mr Sunak said that on top of welfare payments, the government had offered other types of assistance to the poorest Britons, including with energy bills.
“There’s lots of different ways to get support to the people who need it,” he said. BLOOMBERG
