Merseyside’s Fightback Against Universal Credit

Universal Credit, the largest welfare reform in a generation was supposed to make receiving benefits and getting back into work easier but for many this has had the opposite effect. Delays in payments, sanctions and underpayments have seen a rise in people being forced to use food banks, falling into rent arrears and even homelessness. Drawing on the experiences of those in The Wirral, where there’s been a 32% increase in food bank use since the roll out of UC in November 2017, volunteer groups like Fans Supporting Foodbanks and local politicians in Liverpool, are bracing themselves for the full rollout of universal credit.