Peers enter constitutional confrontation over tax credits

“Before the election Cameron promised not to cut tax credits, then went back on his word – and for more than half of Scots, that broken promise has not gone unnoticed”. Since the SNP is unrepresented in the Upper House, all three traditional Westminster parties actually do better than their vote in the 2015 Lords (as Table 1 highlights) though the governing party is still short of a majority.

Labour peer Glenys Thornton of Manningham, in West Yorkshire, who voted to accept, Baroness Hollis” amendment, said because Labour’s motion was not “fatal’ like the one the Lib Dems presented, they gained ground with cross-benchers, and displayed a respect for the right of the Government to make legislation and try and pass it through Parliament.

She insisted there was no question of the cuts being dropped however – after shadow chancellor John McDonnell said Labour would refrain from exploiting any U-turn for party political advantage. And on Thursday the Commons will hold a backbench debate on tax credits where a new approach will be backed by growing numbers of Tories.

“It would be unprecedented for them to overturn a tax and spending measure like this that the House of Commons has spoken on”.

“It’s true to say that people across the diocese have been in contact with me, as they have about a number of issues”.

MPs have voted twice in favour of the cuts, but senior Tories including David Davis and London mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith have joined forces with Labour’s former welfare minister Frank Field on a cross-party motion calling for action to protect poorer families.

Peers were accused by Tories of a “constitutional outrage” after they ignored warnings about the primacy of the elected House of Commons.

The government had claimed the cuts will be offset by other measures, including a higher minimum wage.

The Upper House, whose main function is as a revising chamber, has no powers to amend or block government money bills but the tax credit changes are incorporated in a so-called statutory instrument rather than primary legislation. That would be welcome, because it would show once and for all how undemocratic they have become and how urgently in need of fix Britain’s constitutional arrangements are.

Tackling these issues is the thrust of a cross-party motion, tabled by the Conservative MP David Davis and the Labour MP and Works and Pension Committee chair Frank Field.

A Government defeat, while not binding, would be a severe embarrassment for the Chancellor and the Prime Minister.

During the most recent fiscal year, ended in March, the government spent GBP30 billion ($46 billion) on tax credits, which are received primarily by families on low incomes.

The YouGov survey on 1,625 adults commissioned by campaign group 38 Degrees and conducted last week found 28% thought more negatively about the Government as a result of the controversy.

“For every pound the person earns by going out to work, by taking on extra hours in order to improve their lives, they will only keep seven pence”, Baroness Manzoor said.

Members of the Lords will debate them on Monday and are due to vote on amendments rejecting or delaying the proposals.

Downing Street is heading towards a clash with the House of Lords over Chancellor George Osborne’s controversial plans to cut tax credits, amid fears the reforms will have a disastrous effect on the most vulnerable.

“We will continue that approach”, the Prime Minister’s official spokeswoman said.

Labour’s leader in the Lords, Baroness Smith of Basildon, said that had been done deliberately “to sidestep the more usual detailed parliamentary scrutiny”.