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Rishi Sunak challenged by Glasgow SNP over 'cruel' social security cuts
SNP politicians have now written a joint letter to the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to urge him and the government to rethink its damaging welfare policies

GLASGOW’S SNP MPs and MSPs have written to Chancellor Rishi Sunak urging him to scrap the cruel two-child cap and U-turn on planned cuts to universal credit (UC). 

Analysis from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation published last week shows that Glasgow will be the area hardest hit in Scotland by the upcoming UC cuts, on top of being the worst affected by the two-child limit policy.

In every Westminster constituency in Glasgow, there are more than four in 10 families with children affected by the cuts to UC, with three areas seeing more than half hit by the reductions.  

In Glasgow Central, the figure is as high as 63 per cent. 

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) data shows that 2,860 families in Glasgow are directly affected by the two-child cap – the highest number of all local authorities in Scotland.

The city’s SNP politicians have now written a joint letter to the Chancellor to urge him and the government to rethink its damaging welfare policies. 

Glasgow Central MP Alison Thewliss said: “These statistics conclude what we already know about Boris Johnson’s Tory government: they are failing millions of families across Scotland – with my own Glasgow Central constituency being hardest hit by Tory cuts to social security.

“There are thousands of families across Glasgow, and across Scotland, who are having to decide whether to heat their home or buy food. That is simply unacceptable.

“The UK government must listen to the calls of MPs and MSPs and charity groups to scrap the two-child cap immediately and U-turn on the cruel cuts to universal credit. Failure to do so will plunge half a million more people into poverty.” 

A spokesman for the Tory government said UC will continue to provide a vital safety net and that there is now a focus on the “plan for jobs.”

“The two-child policy asks families on benefits to make the same financial decisions as families supporting themselves solely through work,” he said.

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