DAVID Mowat MP has lambasted Labour MPs for failing to support a benefits cap as part of the Welfare Reform Bill.

Labour peers voted to remove the cap last month, but last Wednesday the House of Commons voted to impose it.

The cap would ensure that no family could earn more than a total of £26,000 a year once all benefits have been taken into account. Disability living allowance and working tax credits are excluded.

Government figures suggest that this figure is roughly equivalent to a working family having a pre-tax annual income of around £35,000.

The Warrington South MP said: “Labour told us they wanted fairness and responsibility in the benefits system. They said that they supported the principle of a cap on benefits, but when they had the opportunity to put words into action, they bowed yet again to their union paymasters.

“No one is going to believe their rhetoric on benefits any more as they have shown themselves to be out of touch and untrustworthy.

“Last week MPs had a very simple question to answer. Many families in places like Warrington have far lower incomes than £35,000, despite working long hours.

“Why should they pick up the bill for other families to live in some of the poshest parts of London?

“Conservatives understand this and that’s why we have put ourselves firmly on the side of ordinary people.”