At last week’s Durham County Council meeting held at Spennymoor Leisure Centre the authority’s Labour Group was set to support a motion to retain a £20 uplift in Universal Credit by tabling an amendment to extend it to legacy benefit claimants too. It seemed sensible enough to protect vulnerable residents and working families against the impact of ongoing central government austerity, whilst at the same time helping our local economies to recover from the pandemic by putting more money into the pockets of local people.
So everyone there was taken aback when the Lib Dems decided at the very last minute to withdraw their motion in support of maintaining the uplift - and rumours spread rather quickly that they’d been ordered by their Tory coalition bosses to withdraw the motion.
Had the Lib Dems really been put back in their box, simply to avoid embarrassing senior members of the Tory-led coalition in control at county hall? No one seems to know for sure, but the article shown below from today’s Newcastle Chronicle puts a compelling case for that scenario. Take a look and decide for yourself: