WATCH: Debate gets heated as Tory MP accuses Labour of 'money grab'

GB News

A furious clash erupted on GB News after Conservative MP Joe Robertson branded the Government's welfare reforms a "cruel £5billion cash grab" during a heated exchange with Labour MP Natalie Fleet.Robertson accused the Government of failing to reduce welfare dependency, claiming that "even if this bill goes through, there will be more people on welfare benefits year on year on year".The Isle of Wight East MP told the People's Channel: "They're not trying to get a grip on it. In fact, even if this bill goes through, there will be more people on welfare benefits year on year on year. This bill does not reduce the number of people on welfare."What it is, is a £5billion cash grab because the Chancellor has ground the economy to a halt and she needs money."This isn’t reform. It’s not targeted. It’s unfair. It's taking money from some of those, yes, who shouldn't be on benefits but it will also take money from those who should be, and who deserve support. I don’t believe they’ve changed."READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Transcript

00:00The welfare bill is totally unsustainable. I think you would accept that. I think everybody

00:06would accept that. Therefore, you should be backing with no conditions. If you accept

00:11that premise, they're trying to get a grip on it, you should back them. No qualifications,

00:16no questions. Thank goodness someone's trying to deal with this ballooning bill. You're

00:20on side.

00:21They're not trying to get a grip of it. In fact, even if this bill goes through, there

00:25will be more people on welfare benefit year on year on year. This bill does not reduce

00:31the amount of people on welfare. What it is, is a cash grab for £5 billion because the

00:37Chancellor has ground the economy to a halt and she needs money. This isn't reform. It's

00:42not targeted. It's unfair. It's taking money from some of those, yes, who shouldn't be on

00:47benefit. It will also take money from those who should and deserve the money they receive.

00:53Have you got any examples of who you believe should be on benefits that these measures

00:59will take off them?

01:00So the thousands of children that will be pushed into poverty by this, according to

01:04the government's own impact assessment, the government's own assessment says that 250,000

01:10families will be put into poverty. The last Labour government took me out of poverty and that

01:15is why I'm here today. I'm not here to talk about Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. I'm here

01:19to talk about Keir Starmer and the Chancellor. At the end of this Parliament, last children

01:21will be in poverty and they are now. Where was your child poverty strategy? You didn't

01:25have one because you didn't care. Now, for political point scoring, you seem to care.

01:29No, I don't want people who are on pit, who need their money, to have it removed.

01:33You know that food banks didn't exist. Your 120 of your colleagues agree with me. They

01:40don't agree with you. They are good people who care about their communities. They do not

01:46agree with you. They are angry with you for 14 years. You know, when I was a benefits advisor,

01:52not only did you not want them to claim benefits, you didn't want people like me to be able to

01:56advise them, which is why I was made redundant. They deserve better. And there's no wonder that

02:00disabled people are scared because they have seen how your government

02:04treated them over 14 years. That was unfair. We are doing this with labour values.

02:1110% of them will lose. Joe Robertson from the Conservative Party. I'm stressing that just

02:15for people who are listening on radio. This is what happened on your watch. So the year

02:19before the pandemic in 2019, PIP cost the then government, your government, £12 billion.

02:27Last year, it cost the government £22 billion. So that massive increase, you're saying,

02:33well, actually, just more people needed PIP during the time, during the last Conservative

02:38government. And that's why Jeremy, I think everybody agrees that too many people became

02:44reliant on welfare during COVID. And that we, the last Conservative government, didn't do enough

02:51to bring people off. I'm absolutely up for welfare reform that reduces the amount of people reliant

03:00on welfare. But it has to be done in a way that targets those who shouldn't be receiving welfare.

03:06That is not what this bill is about. It doesn't reduce the amount of people on welfare. It takes £5 billion

03:13as a blunt cut in order to fill the Chancellor's coffers because she's ground the economy to a whole.

03:19I have a question. OK. I can give you a specific. OK.

03:22At Labour's nuttly fleet. I think there's a consensus, probably among those watching and listening.

03:27Is there any delay there?

03:29Is there any

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