Colne Valley Tory MP Jason McCartney rebels to support Labour motion to keep £20 a week Universal Credit rise

Labour tonight forced a vote which urged the Government to maintain a £20 a week rise in Universal Credit, but Boris Johnson ordered his MPs to abstain from the vote.

The motion, which was non-binding, passed by 278 votes to zero.

The Northern Research Group (NRG) of 65 Conservative MPs called for the uplift to remain and six Conservatives joined Labour to vote for the motion - including Yorkshire MP Jason McCartney.

Speaking during the debate, Tory MP for Barrow and Furness MP Simon Fell said “now is not the time” to remove the rise, while former work and pensions secretary Stephen Crabb urged the Government to stick with the increase.

The latter rebelled to vote with Labour along with Peter Aldous (Waveney), Robert Halfon (Harlow), Anne Marie Morris (Newton Abbot), Matthew Offord (Hendon), and Colne Valley’s Mr McCartney.

The Government temporarily increased the benefit to help families through the Covid crisis, but this is due to expire in April, potentially hitting six million families.

Earlier, Downing Street accused Labour of pulling a “political stunt” over the debates. The Prime Minister’s press secretary, Allegra Stratton, said: “MPs are being told to abstain because today is not the day when we will be announcing our next steps on the £20 Universal Credit uplift.”

And she said no decision had yet been made on whether to keep the rise.

But Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds said: “Enacting a policy that will plunge families into hardship, widen regional inequalities and make working people carry the can for this Government’s mistakes is no way to rebuild Britain.”

And Bradford East Labour MP Imran Hussein said: “Let me be clear, ensuring that people can afford to eat, can keep a roof over their head and can heat their home is never a splurge, it is never a stunt and it is never a waste.”

Treasury Minister Steve Barclay said the Government is “acutely aware” of the harm caused to finances by the pandemic.

He said: “At every stage of the pandemic, we have striven to support those who have found themselves at the sharp end.”

Speaking before the vote Emma Revie, chief executive at the Trussell Trust network of food banks, said there had been a rise in the demand.

She said: “It’s clear that action is needed to ensure our benefits system provides people with enough money to cover the essentials.”

Dianne Lyons, Chief Executive at Citizens Advice Leeds, said: “For a few months, it’s meant life has been a little less difficult but even with the £20 uplift to Universal Credit, families face tough choices between buying food, putting the heating on and paying the rent.

“Without it, the families we help will once again be struggling even more to make ends meet and debt problems will escalate.”

The Prime Minister earlier accused Labour of “inciting the worst kind of hatred and bullying” by pushing the vote, in a message to Tory MPs.

His press secretary later said Mr Johnson believes people must be “civil and kind to each other” and be careful over their choice of language during political debate.

Labour’s shadow work and pensions secretary Jonathan Reynolds said Conservative MPs should not receive personal abuse.

He said: “I know that after the vote on free school meals many Conservative MPs [...] received a high degree of personal abuse and I want to make unequivocally clear that is wrong.”