Harriet Harman’s announcement on the Sunday politics yesterday, that Labour would not be voting against the welfare bill, nor would they oppose child tax credit cuts or the Tories new benefits cap, has rightly drawn condemnation from different sections of the Party, and now both Yvette Cooper and Andy Burnham have joined Jeremy Corbyn (who launched a petition last night) calling for opposition to the child tax credit cut. Kendall has remained silent, while none of the candidates have yet said they would oppose the new lower benefit cap (of £23,000 in London, and £20,000 outside of London – an astonishing cut of 23%) with the exception of Jeremy Corbyn, who has already said in hustings that he is opposed to the cap altogether.

It is worth remembering, that both Yvette Cooper and Andy Burnham voted in favour of the initial household benefit cap in 2014, despite Save the Children’s report that the policy would push 345,000 children into poverty. Of all the leadership and deputy leadership candidates, only Corbyn and Watson voted through the ‘No’ lobby on that occasion. Continue reading →