Labour welcomes government tax credit defeat

The House of Commons had already approved major cuts to tax credits, including changes to the income threshold and scrapping parts of the benefit.

By parliamentary convention, the House of Lords does not vote down financial legislation or proposals which featured in the government’s election manifesto – but the government was defeated 307-277 by an alliance of Labour, Lib Dem and crossbench peers who voted to pause the proposals until an independent analysis was carried out.

According to figures supplied by Worthing Labour, who protested against the cuts on Saturday, 4,000 local families would have been affected – each made on average £1,300 worse off.

But Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne was defiant following the defeat, suggesting he would carry on with plans to cut tax credits and announce modifications in the upcoming Autumn statement.

Labour’s Jim Deen, Worthing West candidate in 2015, warned: “We still have a big fight on our hands to make sure the lowest earning working families, and their children, are fully protected.”

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