London Mayor Boris Johnson(01 of08)
Open Image ModalThe MP, writer and Tory leadership rival has made clear firms should be paying workers more before the Chancellor starts "hacking back" on tax credits. "Before we start hacking back on people's in-work benefits we've got to look at the low pay from corporations that could be coughing up much, much more to help them," he said. (credit:Dan Balilty/AP)
The Sun Newspaper (02 of08)
Open Image ModalThe country's biggest-selling daily, which backed the Tories at the general election, has launched a campaign opposing the reform. “The Tories cannot claim to be the workers’ party while kicking away the ladder from those with a foot on the first rung,” it wrote in an scathing editorial.
Former Chancellor Lord Lawson(03 of08)
Open Image ModalThe man in Mr Osborne's job under Margaret Thatcher cautioned over the impact on the poorest as a wave of Tory peers expressed their unease. He told the House of Lords: “The great harm or the great deal of the harm is at the lowest end (of the income scale). That is what needs to be looked at again, that is what concerns me.” (credit:Clive Brunskill via Getty Images)
Rebel Tory MP Heidi Allen (04 of08)
Open Image ModalThe MP became the flag-bearer for unhappy Conservative backbenchers when she made a headline-grabbing speech in the Commons, saying she came into politics to protect the "vulnerable". "I worry that our single-minded determination to reach a budget surplus is betraying who were are," she said.
Iain Duncan Smith's Think Tank(05 of08)
Open Image ModalFormer IDS adviser Philippa Stroud, chief executive of his Centre for Social Justice, wrote that Mr Osborne should reduce the impact of the £4billion worth of cuts. "This Government is set to achieve its historic aim to make sure work always pays more than welfare, we shouldn’t put that at risk,” she said. (credit:OLI SCARFF via Getty Images)
Work And Pensions Committee(06 of08)
Open Image ModalThe committee of MPs is led by Labour's Frank Field (above), but boasts six Conservatives - Heidi Allen, John Glen, Richard Graham, Craig Mackinlay, Jeremy Quin and Craig Williams. They backed its quick-fire report urging the Chancellor to shelve his reforms for a year. "My advice to the Chancellor would be to pause and use the next 18 months to bring forward a major overhaul to abolish tax credits as we know them," said Mr Field. (credit:Anthony Devlin/PA Archive)
Conservative Commentators (07 of08)
Open Image ModalTimes columnist Tim Montgomerie (above) has damned the Chancellor for "bad politics". "You cannot fight an election saying you are standing up for hard-working families then you cut benefits for hard-working families," he said. Fraser Nelson, editor of The Spectator magazine, wrote how the move has proved "politically horrific". "Yet again, we can see the Chancellor’s biggest political weakness – he is so clever that he’s downright stupid," he said.
Shire Tories In Safe Seats(08 of08)
Open Image Modal20 Conservatives voted against the tax credits cut in a non-binding Commons motion. It underlined how even Tory MPs in ultra-safe shire constituencies are alarmed. "The shires hide a lot of lower-paid workers, working incredibly hard. It’s fundamental they should have a fair living," Devon MP Neil Parish told The HuffPost UK.