Kent Tories slammed over universal credit cut ‘sweepstake’
Kent councillor Paul Bartlett has apologised for saying Tory members had organised a sweepstake on when the universal credit cut would first be mentioned at a meeting.
Kent Cllr Paul Bartlett, who revealed Tory councillors had organised a sweepstake as to when the universal credit cut would be mentioned at a town hall meeting.
Share
Tory councillors in Kent reportedly ran a sweepstake on when the £20 universal credit cut would first be mentioned at a town hall meeting.
Speaking at a health overview and scrutiny meeting, Labour’s Cllr Karen Constantine said the £1,040 a year cut earlier this month would force many families into poverty. But her speech was interrupted by opposition members “groaning” in the chamber.
After Cllr Constantine finished talking, Tory councillor Paul Bartlett, who chairs the meeting, explained the reasoning for the interruption.
“The reason why you heard collective groans was because some colleagues have lost the sweepstake as to when the £20 universal credit would be mentioned at this meeting,” he said.
Cllr Constantine represents Ramsgate in Thanet, which has the second highest levels of child poverty in the south of England.
She told The Big Issue she was disgusted fellow elected politicians would joke about such an issue and labelled them “out of touch”.
Advertisement
Advertisement
“I was really shocked and very disheartened,” she said.
“It’s really insulting. These were serious issues we were discussing about a direct link between taking money away from people to buy decent food and the impact on their health and mental health.
Subscribe to The Big Issue
From just £3 per week
Take a print or digital subscription to The Big Issue and provide a critical lifeline to our work. With each subscription we invest every penny back into supporting the network of sellers across the UK.
A subscription also means you'll never miss the weekly editions of an award-winning publication, with each issue featuring the leading voices on life, culture, politics and social activism.
The Big Issue last month revealed the extent of poverty in areas of Kent. As of July, 156,233 people in the county were claiming universal credit – almost double the amount of claimants as before the pandemic began. They have now had their benefits cut by £1,040 a year.
Last week a teenager told The Big Issue she had to quit college following the cut because she could no longer afford a bus pass.
And nearly a third of disabled claimants – around a million people – say they are “very likely” to have to skip meals or go without heating this winter.
Cllr Paul Bartlett said: “I very much regret the comment that I made during the meeting and apologise that the choice of words was insensitive.
“I would like to stress that I have the utmost sympathy for anyone struggling financially and that my comment was not, in any way, made in order to offend or upset anyone.
“The comment about universal credit was made in response to Cllr Constantine raising the issue of health outcomes for those on lower incomes – something that the health overview and scrutiny committee strives to address in everything we do.”
Want to buy a copy of the magazine? We have over 1,200 Big Issue vendors in the UK. Each vendor buys a copy of the mag for £1.50 and sells it for £3, keeping the difference. Visit our interactive map to find your nearest vendor and support them today!