Citizens Advice says end of £20 top-up will affect half of claimants in ‘red wall’ battleground constituencies
The government’s planned £20-a-week cut to universal credit cut could drive 2.3 million people into debt including almost half of claimants in “red wall” battleground constituencies, the charity Citizens Advice has said.
In findings that highlighted the potential electoral risk of the cut confirmed by Boris Johnson last month, it found that the average budget shortfall facing claimants in areas such as Redcar and Stoke-on-Trent would be £55 a month, pushing them into debt and driving up food bank use.
