A Tory peer who helped the government to set up the Universal Credit system has called for an urgent increase to benefits in light of the country’s growing cost of living crisis.
Baroness Stroud, a former advisor to ex-party leader Iain Duncan Smith, has said that the government had a responsibility to increase the benefits in line with inflation to help vulnerable people.
She told The Independent that the £20 a week ‘uplift’ introduced to help families during the heigh of the Covid-19 pandemic should be restored to stop more families from falling into poverty.
Telling the paper it was the government’s responsibility to ‘help vulnerable people’, she added that the government ‘has the opportunity to intervene’, pointing to how it ‘has done so in the past’.
She told the paper: “We are sitting on a cost of living crisis; we have the opportunity to intervene; we have done so in the past under difficult situations when it affected everybody, but if governments have a responsibility to do anything, it is to act on behalf of vulnerable people.
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“This is a moment to do that.”
Her comments follow increasing pressure on the Chancellor to do more to help struggling families, as government figures show that poverty is rising fastest among under-fives, and one in three preschool children are now living in poverty.
Lady Stroud, CEO of the Legatum Institute think tank, told The Independent: “I just genuinely think the benefits should be uprated in line with the current inflation – they should be brought forward.
“That would be entirely possible to do. The defense has been made that it can’t be done immediately. I have spoken with DWP officials, who’ve said [an increase in] universal credit can be done immediately.
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“I know the legacy benefits are much harder to do,” she added. “You could do a one-off payment for the equivalent value for those on legacy.”
“We’re going to start seeing very, very difficult choices being made. We’ve already started seeing very difficult choices being made.”
The Tory peer added that the initial introduction of the uplift was “recognition that the levels of welfare are too low”, continuing: “If it wasn’t right for groups of people during Covid, it can’t be right now.”
“I never thought it should be taken away, and I think it should be restored.
“The fact we were able to bring it in so swiftly at the time of the pandemic demonstrates just how easy it would be to restore it now.”
In April, it was revealed that inflation in the UK has soared to a 40-year-high of 9% and is predicted by the Bank of England to hit 10% before the end of the year.
Meanwhile, according to government figures, there are now more working people on Universal Credit than ever before, with 42% of claimants recorded as being in employment on 9 December 2021 – up from 39% on 10 December 2020.
At the same time, the UK’s unemployment rate is currently at its lowest since 1974 at 3.7 percent. This means that there were fewer people out of work than there were job openings in nearly 50 years.
Martha Mackenzie, Save the Children Director of UK Poverty Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns, said: “Poverty is rising fastest among the under-fives in the UK. One in three preschool children are living in poverty. That’s more than any other age group – and is disastrous for the future life-chances of these children.
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“Poverty has a profound impact on children from the very start of their lives. Poorer children are more likely to start primary school without the basic skills they need, such as being able to speak in full sentences. We know that many of these children may never catch up.
“The Government have said they are committed to boosting social mobility. Yet today’s figures show that we are going backwards, and even more pre-school children are sinking into poverty. This must be a wakeup call – we need urgent action to reverse this trend.”
Speaking ahead of the weekend, the Prime Minister told reports he was “not going to pretend we can magic away every single expense that people are going to face as a result of the global spike in energy prices”.
He added: “Be in no doubt, this will come down, we will get people through it. We will use the firepower we’ve built up to put our arms around people, just as we did during the pandemic.”
Snoop Dogg says he wants to replace Gregg Wallace on MasterChef – and so do we
Danny Jones
With Gregg Wallace having been axed from MasterChef, one man has put himself forward to replace the long-standing presenter: Snoop Dogg.
Make that Snoop ‘Doggy’ Dogg, esquire and all-round foodie fancy pants, to you.
No, as we often feel we have to clarify sometimes, we’re not joking – the rapper and hip-hop legend apparently is very keen on the idea of becoming the next co-host of UK MasterChef.
It also goes without saying that we will never EVER get bored of writing headlines like these.
Credit: The Martha Stewart Show/BBC
Speaking to The Mirror, the 53-year-old music icon said, “You’ll best believe You better believe Snoop could be the new MasterChef judge.”
According to Snoop, his time working on Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party with well-known American cook, food writer and TV personality Martha Stewart means he already has prior experience and he also believes he has the backing of another big culinary name.
“My boy Gordon [Ramsay] judges on the US version of the show, and I know he would back me to be able to judge on the UK version”, he told the outlet, going on to add: “He knows I am not playing when it comes to food. He knows I can cook – I have even given him some tips.
“I hosted a cooking show over here and I have always been vocal about wanting to work on a UK show. I love the place – and for real, this could be the perfect opportunity.”
His bid to join the BBC show might be less likely than many others, but we’ve already seen how well getting familiar entertainment faces on works for the Celebrity version of the show, not to mention juicing up the comedy with less serious analysis as seen on Channel 4’s rebrand of The Great British Bake Off.
You can see a selection of Snoop’s on-screen cooking highlights here.
As for the latest on Wallace, he is still officially denying being involved in any inappropriate behaviour of a sexual nature on the show and various other TV projects, with a total of 13 people filing official historical complaints against the long-standing host over the course of a 17-year period.
The 60-year-old is now accused not only of sexual comments in the workplace but groping and touching multiple former contestants and colleagues.
Despite sticking to his official position he has, however, come out to apologise for a response video he made following the second raft of allegations, in which his comments were deemed offensive and misogynistic by a Downing Street official.
We’re confident we already know the answer, so we’ll ask you this instead: just how much do you want to see Snoop Dogg presenting the next series of MasterChef?
Keely Hodgkinson, Sarah Storey, Luke Littler and more shortlisted for BBC Sports Personality of the Year
Danny Jones
The North West and Greater Manchester specifically have notched multiple nods ahead of the year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards.
2023’s recipient Mary Earps had local ties as Manchester United Women’s no.1 and this year even more Manc names or those associated with the city have been named on the shortlist of nominees.
Following standout performances at Paris 2024, native Olympic and Paralympic athletes Keely Hodgkinson and Dame Sarah Storey have both earned a place among this year’s frontrunners, as well as Warrington-born dart sensation Luke Littler, whose breakthrough year sparked a phenomenon.
That’s three of the top six from our region alone. Get in.
Here are the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024!
⭐ Jude Bellingham ⭐ Keely Hodgkinson ⭐ Luke Littler ⭐ Joe Root ⭐ Sarah Storey ⭐ Alex Yee
Atherton-born Hodgkinson, still only 22, earned her first-ever Olympic gold back in the summer and her first thought wasn’t to celebrate and put her feet but go and smash the world record next time. Big murals were erected in her honour both in Manchester city centre and back over Wigan way.
Dame Sarah Storey’s career is one that has long deserved much more recognition, notching medal after medal first in swimming and now in cycling, with no sign of slowing down even at 47. An inspiration to any aspiring athlete, let alone one with an impairment, and was rightly given special recognition by MMU earlier this year.
And Luke Littler’s story needs very little explanation: the 16-year-old with ability way beyond his year that he helped draw an entirely new crowd to the world of darts, winning multiple titles in his first year as a so-called ‘senior’ player on the pro tour. If we’re talking strictly personality, he’s got plenty of that too.
Others shortlisted included England and Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham, England’s record run-scorer Test cricketer Joe Root, as well Olympic triathlete Alex Yee. We also think this man should be on the list again but his time will come, we’re certain of it.
And he’s done it! Kevin Sinfield has completed Day 7 of his Ultra marathon challenge in memory of his friend and rugby league legend Rob Burrow & the whole #MND community. pic.twitter.com/3vnjuVKXg9
The 2024 BBC Sports Personality of the Year takes place on Tuesday, 17 December, with voting taking place during the show which will be broadcast on BBC One and online via BBC iPlayer.
The programme – once again presented by Gabby Logan, Alex Scott and Clare Balding from over in MediaCityUK, Salford Quays – will begin at 7pm and conclude around 9pm after the winner is announced.
Who do you think should win BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024?
Georgina Pellant -
23rd May 2022 
