LONDON (UK) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was criticised in parliament on Monday for not committing to the renewal of a temporary welfare payment increase brought in last year to help people through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Parliament voted 278 to 0 supporting the idea of keeping the top-up payment of 20 pounds ($27) a week, however the vote was symbolic and does not put pressure on the government to act.
Johnson told his lawmakers to refrain from voting, after a debate that brought back attention on whether his government is doing its best for people with low incomes after the recent row over free school meals for needy children.
The opposition Labour Party demanded that the Universal Credit welfare payment increase be extended beyond April, when it is expected to expire.
Labour lawmaker Jonathan Reynolds said, “We all know, families are looking at us, wondering what we will do to help make getting through this crisis that little bit easier. What they don’t expect, is the government making it even harder.”
Ahead of the debate, Johnson was asked four times whether the top-up would continue, however, he did give a precise answer.
He said, “What we’ve said is that we will put our arms around the whole of the country.”
The government says they have not come up with any decision yet and accuses Labour of putting up a political stunt through the means of the vote.
Some members of Johnson’s Conservative Party talked against the government.
former Conservative cabinet minister Stephen Crabb, one of six Conservatives to defy Johnson’s instruction to abstain, said, “People need some certainty about their family finances for the coming year.”
Universal Credit is Britain’s predominant method of supporting those who have lost work, in low income jobs or eligible for welfare based on sickness or disability.