The House of Lords is unusually packed this afternoon for the debate on tax credit cuts. As I explained earlier, there are four motions to consider, and the government has decided to plump for one by the Bishop of Portsmouth as the least worst way of peers expressing their dissatisfaction with the situation.
Tory Leader of the Lords Baroness Stowell has just told peers that she visited Number 11 this morning and that the Chancellor ‘would listen very carefully were the House to express its concern in the way that it is precedented for us to do’. The Bishop’s amendment adds the following to the end of the motion introducing the tax credit cuts:
‘…but this House regrets that the draft Regulations fail to take account of concerns about their short-term impact on working families and individuals currently receiving tax credits, and calls on the Government to consult further on the draft Regulations and revisit their impact.
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