Marcus Rashford calls for universal credit cut to be axed

Footballer urges ministers to tackle ‘child hunger pandemic’ and warns cut will force many into poverty

Marcus Rashford has urged the government to abandon its plan to cut the universal credit uplift within days and demanded ministers tackle what he called a “child hunger pandemic”.

The England and Manchester United footballer, who last year forced Boris Johnson into a U-turn on free school meals, urged voters to write to their MPs before the £20 boost is scrapped on 6 October.

“Instead of removing vital support, we should be focusing on developing a long-term roadmap out of this child hunger pandemic,” he said. “On 6 October, millions lose a lifeline. It’s a move that Child Poverty Action Group says will raise child poverty to one in three.”

Charities have said ending the uplift will force hundreds of thousands of families into poverty, its effect exacerbated by the rising prices of food and energy.

Ministers are understood to be examining a £1bn-a-year increase in benefit payments to cushion the impact of the £6bn-a-year cut in universal credit. The uplift was introduced to help struggling families through the Covid pandemic.

Rashford, 23, has stepped up his campaign against child hunger in the run-up to the government’s spending review on 27 October. He is calling on ministers to expand free school meal eligibility to all children aged seven to 18 in households earning £20,000 or less after benefits – up from £7,400 a year before benefits currently – and to include undocumented children and those with “no recourse to public funds” under the immigration system.

The Manchester-born footballer also wants the government to provide long-term funding for food and activities during school holidays and expand the Healthy Start voucher scheme to households earning £20,000 or less after benefits.

Anna Taylor, the executive director of the Food Foundation, which is working with Rashford, said food insecurity was “surging and is set to get a lot worse”.

She said: “It takes its toll not just on the wellbeing of children, but also on wider society. Getting ahead of this crisis is the litmus test of the government’s ambition to level up.

“Stopping the cut to universal credit and extending free school meals to poor children who currently miss out would provide a minimum protection for at-risk children. It is baffling that currently the government is planning neither. That’s why it is so important that everyone gets their voices heard and asks their MP to support this in the forthcoming spending review.”

Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, on Sunday defended the planned universal credit cut, saying salaries were rising faster than the cost of living and that the government needed to rein in spending from the pandemic.

He told the BBC’s Andrew Marr show: “I think most people recognise that if it’s brought in for the pandemic, it’s going to end as we move back to people going back to work and more normal times. We can’t keep all these things in place, otherwise you’d have to put several pennies on income tax to pay for the policy to run.”

Labour estimates the cut will remove more than £2.5bn from local economies in the north of England and the Midlands, including well over £1bn in “red wall” seats that have traditionally voted Labour but were recently won by the Conservatives.

Contributor

Josh Halliday North of England correspondent

The GuardianTramp

Related Content

Article image
Marcus Rashford to fight for permanent rise in universal credit
EXCLUSIVE: Footballer and food poverty campaigner to discuss keeping £20-a-week uplift with work and pensions secretary

Patrick Butler Social policy editor

24, Dec, 2020 @5:59 AM

Article image
Marcus Rashford urges government to keep £20 universal credit top-up
Footballer and poverty campaigner says ministers should focus on efforts to end the ‘child hunger pandemic’

Patrick Butler Social policy editor

05, Sep, 2021 @11:01 PM

Article image
John Major calls for Tory review of 'unfair' universal credit
Former PM says party needs to ‘show its heart again’ or it risks opening door to ’return of a nightmare’

Anushka Asthana Political editor

08, Oct, 2017 @11:33 AM

Article image
Labour criticises delays to universal credit changes
Measures announced in budget will not be introduced until as late as April, leaving some families facing a tough Christmas

Peter Walker Political correspondent

23, Nov, 2017 @2:04 PM

Article image
Gordon Brown: universal credit cut ‘vindictive and indefensible’
Ex-PM writes in Guardian that with prices of basics set to ‘rocket’, £20 a week cut is illogical and callous

Peter Walker Political correspondent

22, Sep, 2021 @12:00 PM

Article image
Labour inflicts symbolic defeat over universal credit rollout
Tories under fire for abstaining from vote hours after work and pensions secretary David Gauke ends helpline charges

Jessica Elgot and Peter Walker

18, Oct, 2017 @7:45 PM

Article image
Universal credit regulations ruled unlawful by high court
Terms would leave thousands with severe disabilities worse off by about £100 a month

Patrick Butler Social policy editor

03, May, 2019 @11:02 AM

Article image
Pay compensation for universal credit errors, says thinktank
Amends for officials mistakes’ should match benefit sanctions, report suggests

Patrick Butler Social policy editor

11, Mar, 2019 @12:01 AM

Article image
Women launch legal challenge to 'irrational' universal credit system
Flaw in system leaves people with dramatically fluctuating monthly incomes, they say

Patrick Butler

27, Nov, 2018 @12:40 PM

Article image
Food banks report record demand amid universal credit chaos
Charity calls for immediate reduction in six-week wait for first benefit payment after handing out 1,182,954 emergency parcels

Patrick Butler Social policy editor

24, Apr, 2017 @11:01 PM