AN SNP MP has made an empassioned speech during a debate on the planned cuts to Universal Credit.

David Linden, who represents Glasgow East, said thousands of people would be made worse off by the UK government’s plans to remove the £20 uplift to Universal Credit.

The increase was implemented at the start of the pandemic to help people on the bread line, however it is due to be removed at the end of this month.

Mr Linden has been at the forefront of the SNP’s campaign to stop the cut.

He spoke during Labour’s opposition day debate, during which they will force a non-binding vote on the issue.

Mr Linden attacked his Scottish Tory colleagues directly during his address, saying they were letting down thousands of their constituents.

He then listed the six constituencies held by the Scottish Conservative MPs, along with the number of people in each area who would be affected by the planned cut.

Starting with Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader and MP for Moray, Mr Linden said: “6110 households in Moray will be at risk of sliding into poverty, and if the member doesn't vote for the motion tonight then the Honourable Member for Moray clearly does not care.”

He then accused the others of failing their constituents if they did not support the motion against the planned cut in the Commons this evening.

Earlier in his speech Mr Linden read out a quote from a 23-year-old named Morgan, who was struggling to cope even with the extra £20 a week.

He said: “’There are plenty of times when I'm getting such bad hunger pains that I can barely move. I can last for a while without eating; I've been trying to get my mind off the hunger by either doing exercise, or maybe doing a bit of work on my computer.’

“That is a quote from Morgan. He’s spent six months sleeping on friend’s sofas and occasionally in the street.

“That is the reality of life in Tory Britain.”

Labour's shadow work and pensions secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, said the Chancellor could avoid the cut.

He said: “This Government is already a high-tax government. And due to that, and the decision to freezer personal allowances and hike council tax combined with the much lower Government borrowing costs than expected, the projections are already coming in for the October spending review suggesting there is far more room for manoeuvre than anyone previously thought.”

He quoted from the Resolution Foundation saying: “They said this last week: ‘the Chancellor will be significantly boosted by the good news the Office for Budget Responsibility will deliver with its updated forecasts on October 27’.

“Borrowing this year is likely to come in several tens of billion pounds lower than expected, having already borrowed £26 billion less than previously forecast for the first four months of 2021.

“More importantly, if the OBR moves its forecast for the long-term scarring effect of the pandemic on the British economy, that’s currently 3% of GDP, into line with the more optimistic consensus, the Bank of England now saying just 1%, he will have a windfall that lasts possibly to the tune of £25 billion a year.”

Mr Reynolds added: “Now personally I believe the final forecast may be slightly less generous than that, but the point remains, the decision to keep the level of Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit at the level it is could be made within the fiscal headroom the Chancellor already has when the spending review takes place.”