[user104658]

They are required for as long as there is a gulf between the cost of living and the wages that are on offer. As things stand right now, without help, someone working full-time (with overtime) in a low-wage job can barely pay rent and utilities let alone live any reasonable sort of life. That situation, is unworkable. There's no justification for it. It's like saying "If you want a good quality of life, work hard! Oh, you ARE working hard and it's still impossible? Oh... well... never mind."

Now, in THEORY, I am all for increased wages / reduced income tax and N.I rather than tax credits, IF those increases result in an overall income that is the same as or better than what would be achieved with pay + tax credits. This is for several reasons. One is that it's better, if at all possible, to avoid having to rely on the government for support simply because there is a constant risk that they will sanction you, **** you over, or decide that you've accidentally had to much and send you a bill claiming it back. The second is for finance reasons; if your overall income is £18k and that's £12k pay and £6k working tax credits, you can realistically expect to get a mortgage of no more than around £50,000. If your income is exactly the same, £18000, but all of it is wages then you could push for £75,000+.

So yeah - basically an ideal world would be one where the wages on offer mean that Tax Credits are not required for working people. But we do not live in an ideal world, and removing them simply means a country where people work their fingers to the bone but still live in relative poverty. I don't see why anyone would want that. When someone is working hard then it's only right that they have a passable quality of life.

The proposed Tory cuts also do not reflect what I've said above - the cuts in tax credits, even with minimum wage increases factored in, result in a net loss of over £100 a month for many working families. Money that many just don't have.