Tory MP warns own party about tax credit cuts
Newly appointed Conservative MP Heidi Allen has used her maiden speech to question her party's attitudes towards tax credits and to warn them of the dangers of bringing cuts in too quickly.
Allen, the parliamentary member for South Cambridgeshire, said it was "not the fault of the recipients of tax credits" that they needed additional funds and highlighted the fact that it was "real people, working people" that would be affected.
Stating that reducing tax credits overnight and expecting people to "immediately" find more work to subsidise the effects of cuts showed a "level of naivety" she urged her party to allow more time to introduce changes so people could be supported through them.
The comments came as pressure continued to mount on Chancellor George Osborne to give way on plans to cut tax credits for low-paid workers today.
Earlier Conservative backbenchers David Davis and Zac Goldsmith signed a cross-party motion calling on the government to mitigate the impact of tax credit cuts for low-paid workers and Labour called for a rebellion from Tory MPs who were concerned about proposed cuts.
Allen's outspoken plea for more time to let working people adjust to proposed changes to Britain's welfare system was supported by her counterparts in other parties.
Labour's Seema Malhotra said Allen's defence of working people showed "even Tory MPs are now beginning to see the full extent of David Cameron and George Osborne’s tax credit cuts", and SNP MP Mhairi Black took to Twitter to congratulate Allen on a "honest and brave" speech.