Tory peer calls for welfare boost to counter cost of living crisis
One of Britain’s most prominent retailers has called for a major welfare boost for the poorest as pressure grows on chancellor Rishi Sunak to act on the cost of living crisis.
Stuart Rose, the chairman of Asda and Conservative peer, effectively backed reinstating a £20-a-week uplift in universal credit introduced at the start of the Covid pandemic to help those on low incomes. He said some were seeing “shocking” increases in their bills and warned that the pressures were likely to persist into 2024.
“We’ve got a national economic emergency and we’ve all got to pull together and sort it out,” he told the Observer. “Doing nothing is not an option. We’ve got to act and act fast. Even if things do improve next year, prices will still be going up as inflation falls. The people we need to worry about are those on lower incomes. They are really struggling.”
Rose is the latest senior business figure and Conservative to urge immediate action. Last week, Tesco chairman John Allan called for support, saying there was now an “overwhelming case” for a windfall tax on energy companies to help those suffering the most from the cost of living crisis. Rose said that he was “nervous about a windfall tax” and believed that direct, targeted help to the low paid was a better approach.
“I think it needs to be done through welfare – it needs to be carefully targeted,” he said. “It needs to be an intervention which is going to make a significant difference to people. I don’t know how people on lower wages and a couple of kids are going to manage this year. If you’ve got an illness, you provide medicine until you’re cured then take it away. You just have to explain it carefully. People will understand. I would be having a very, very targeted
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