Liberal Democrats have launched a bid to stop Government plans to cut Universal Credit.

The Party’s Work and Pensions Spokesperson, Zahida Manzoor, has used an amendment to the Government’s flagship Welfare Reform and Work Bill to seek to stop the cuts.

This Tory cut would mean low income working families applying for Universal Credit from 2017 would be an average of £1,000 worse off.

In the long term up to 2.6 million people are expected to lose out as a result of changes to Universal Credit’

In December, Tim Farron said the first significant political battle of 2016 will be over Conservative plans to slash support for working families on low incomes.

Zahida Manzoor said:  “George Osborne claimed he listened to concerns about low income working families losing out when he U-turned on Tax Credits, but in fact he has simply delayed the pain.

“Universal Credit is a good system, that Liberal Democrats fought for in Government, but George Osborne Is taking apart that good work to create a system that is far less generous to working people.   If he and the Government are serious about supporting people on low incomes who go out to work every day then they need to drop these savage cuts to Universal Credit.”