A review into Parliament’s workings must not “punish” the House of Lords for defeating the government over tax credit cuts, an ex-Lord Speaker says.
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The Conservatives have said the upper house has gone against historical convention by blocking a financial matter, and particularly one backed three times by the elected House of Commons.
The peer also said it would be “insane” for David Cameron to create a new tranche of peers to give the government effective control of the Lords, since the House was already overcrowded with almost 800 existing members.
“I will set out plans in the Autumn Statement that we remain determined as ever to build the low tax, low welfare, high wage economy that Britain needs and the British people want to see”.
And Mr Osborne will now be forced to provide transitional protection from his cuts before his Autumn Statement on November 25.
Key changes proposed include slashing in half the amount people can earn before tax credits reduce, from £6,420 to £3,850, and families will only be able to claim child tax credit for two children from April 2017.
The Prime Minister repeatedly refused to say if the a few of the country’s poorest households would still lose out under the reforms aimed at cutting £4.4 billion off the welfare bill.
Tax credits are a series of benefits introduced by the last Labour government to help low-paid families.
After the first time in 100 years, the House of Lords chose to go against the government and stop this foolish notion which has to speak volumes, but instead Mr Cameron and Mr Osborne are looking to restrict their power and fill the House of Lords with even more Conservatives.
“The review would consider in particular how to secure the decisive role of the elected House of Commons in relation to (i) its primacy on financial matters; and (ii) secondary legislation”, the spokesperson said.
Former Cabinet Minister Andrew Mitchell, Conservative MP for Sutton Coldfield in Birmingham, was speaking after the Government suffered a dramatic defeat in the House of Lords over tax credits.
“The Chancellor has failed to understand the worry and alarm this has caused amongst people who work hard and do the right thing”.
But in the most public rebuke on the issue yet, the House of Lords voted twice against the measures after an often emotional four-hour debate.
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.
“We need to get to a position where tax credits are only there to support those who really need them – and that means we need to see employees increase the pay of working people”.
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He added that there would be “outrage” if the Government tried to add scores of new Tory peers to the Lords in future to ensure legislation could be passed more easily.
