A Labour government was meant to usher in a new era, one of change and hope, fairness and equality. It was meant to represent a break from the failed policies of the past, not a continuation of them.

I am deeply disappointed that the government has chosen to pursue benefit cuts, policies that Labour, in opposition, rightly condemned.

The DWP’s own impact assessment, released during the Spring statement, shows this policy will push 250,000 people into poverty, including 50,000 children.

These cuts will have catastrophic consequences for our poorest families, with 3.2 million households losing on average £1,720 a year.

Those no longer eligible for Personal Independence Payments will lose on average £4,500.

I will not vote to make the most vulnerable in our communities poorer. I will not penalise sick and disabled people simply because their health creates additional barriers or prevents them from working.

There are alternatives.

A 2% tax on assets over £10 million, would raise up to £24 billion a year. This would impact 20,000 of the UK wealthiest people, those who have either inherited their wealth or have benefitted most from our economy.

We need to see the oil and gas windfall tax made permanent, while introducing an excess profits approach that would also include excessive profits for other reasons such as monopoly power and network effects.

From higher taxes on private jets, properly resourcing HMRC to tackle tax abuse, to mandating multinational businesses operating in the UK to publish a breakdown of exactly how much income, profit and tax they generate here and in all other countries, there are alternatives to benefit cuts.

There are means to raise revenues, asking those individuals and corporations that profit most from our society and economy to contribute more.

The alternative is to penalise those with the least, continue to tax those on low and modest income and simply to turn a blind eye to rampant and widening economic inequality that is damaging to the whole of society.

I will continue to urge the government to choose a different path, but in the meantime, I am simply unable to support benefit cuts and will vote against any such proposals when they are debated in parliament.