A VOTE to cut the £30 a week Employment Support Allowance has been criticised by Wokingham’s Labour party.
Earlier this week three of the borough’s four MPs all voted in favour of axing the payment made via disability benefits, despite warnings from charities that it would make life harder for disabled people already struggling to get by.
The Labour party spokesperson, Andy Croy, said: “Why is John Redwood pushing people into poverty?
“Apparently cutting £30 per week from the income of someone who is recovering from, say, the effects of a course of chemotherapy, will incentivise them to get out to work more quickly.
“Mr Redwood has rejected the advice of MacMillan Cancer Support and other charities who work with the cancer patients and the long term ill. These groups called on the government to, at the very least, conduct an impact assessment on the health and financial effects of taking away £1,500 per year from a seriously ill person.”