Tories today called on the Chancellor to extend the £20 Universal Credit uplift for a year as the Prime Minister tried to stave off a growing rebellion.
Ex-work and pensions secretary Stephen Crabb said he would vote against the Government tonight when Labour forces a vote on the planned cut.
Boris Johnson is allowing his MPs to abstain to avoid another Tory rebellion.
It comes after 65 Tory MPs known as the Northern Research Group (NRG) said that ending the uplift now would be “devastating”.
Mr Crabb told Times Radio he would like to see the Chancellor extend the uplift for 12 more months to give time for the economy to improve, warning that this was “not the moment to withdraw that money from families”.
In a statement issued on behalf of the 65 MPs in the NRG, Carlisle MP John Stevenson said it had been a “life-saver” for people through the pandemic.
Many of the NRG members are in “red wall” seats that the Tories won from Labour at the 2019 general election.
Labour’s motion states: “This House believes that the Government should stop the planned cut in UC and Working Tax Credit in April and give certainty today to the six million families for whom it is worth an extra £1,000 a year.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told ITV’s Lorraine that “in their heart of hearts” Tory MPs want to back Labour’s vote.
