Today Emma challenged the Prime Minister to defend measures that would leave working families on low incomes thousands of pounds worse off.
Emma told David Cameron how a home carer in her constituent, Kylie Strasenburgh, would lose far more from cuts to tax credits than she would gain from a higher minimum wage. This would leave her, and millions of families like hers, worse off.
Speaking at Prime Ministers Questions, Emma said:
“My constituent Kylie Strasenburgh is a home carer on call six days a week. She works every hour God sends, but needs working tax credits to help her make ends meet. Will the Prime Minister be honest with Kylie and admit that even with a higher minimum wage, cuts to tax credits will make her worse off?”
The Prime Minister argued that workers would benefit from the ‘living wage’ announced in the Budget. You can read Emma’s question and the Prime Minister’s response on Parliament’s website.
But what the Prime Minister did not mention is that changes to tax credits mean families will be worse off even with the new wage.
An independent report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies showed that poorer households would lose the most from the Budget.
And the Living Wage Foundation itself has disowned the Tories’ so-called living wage.
A couple with two children working full time at the minimum wage would see their wages rise £1,560 under the changes announced in the Budget, but they would lose £2,200 in working tax credits. Meanwhile a lone parent working part-time with two children would lose twice as much in tax credits as they gain in wages.
The bottom line for families is that under the Tories they will have less money at the end of the month.
Speaking after Prime Ministers Questions, Emma said:
“The Prime Minister is being dishonest when he says the Budget will make working people better off. In reality this Budget gives with one hand, but takes away much, much more with the other. The Tories have rebranded Labour’s Minimum Wage as a living wage, but what use is a living wage you can’t live on? Low and middle earners need security, not a cynical rebranding exercise.