Welfare Reform and Work Bill

Debate between Helen Goodman and Natascha Engel

Tuesday 27th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Jo Churchill]

I was fortunate enough to sit on the Public Bill Committee, and I also sit on the Women and Equalities Committee. That has shown me two things. I recently spoke to women in Oldham running a voluntary group, and the leader said to me she did not feel what we were doing was wrong, because she felt these measures helped marginalised minority women break out of the cycle of being kept in their homes, improved their English and helped them understand how their families interact with the wider world, asking women to find work and not rely on—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Natascha Engel)]

Order. The hon. Lady is making a speech, not an intervention, so I ask her to resume her seat.

[Helen Goodman]

People can take different views on this matter, and I have just been describing the view I take with respect to lone parents.

I want to make one final point. Conservative Members have repeatedly said that the Opposition have no proposals for savings and they are the only ones who are concerned about the deficit. The Opposition voted against the inheritance tax cuts, which will benefit the richest 60,000 households, and we went into the last general election with a proposal to cut the winter fuel allowance for wealthy pensioners. Personally, I think that would be a better thing to do than hit disabled people once again.