'In a speech to shop workers’ union Usdaw, Rachel Reeves, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury condemned a "little-noticed change to tax credit rules” for affecting low-income families whose parents work between 16 and 24 hours a week, and regarded it as a "deeply unfair change" to those unable to increase their working hours.

“In this climate, very few people in part-time work will find be able to increase their hours by up to 50 per cent,” she said. “This tax credit bombshell is now just a few weeks away. For thousands of families it means going out to work won’t pay and they’ll be better off on benefits. That makes no economic sense at all. The government urgently needs to think again.”

Working tax credit is a payment for low-income people earning less than £12,900 per year or a couple working at least 16 hours a week and earning less than £17,700 a year.'

Read more: UK Tax Credit ‘Bombshell’ Hits Families