Gavin Barwell, MP for Croydon Central, said he supported the trial of a £500 benefit cap on couples in the borough.
The cap is meant to ensure that benefits do not total more than the average household income of £26,000.
Mr Barwell said on Twitter: “Benefits cap certainly something to celebrate. Can’t justify giving some out-of-work families more than average families earn.”
Single adults without children will also be impacted with a cap of £350, while single parents will still receive a cap of £500. The cap includes benefits such as carers allowance, child benefit, jobseekers allowance and income support.
But his comments have caused anger among residents and charities in the borough.
Resident Tim Eveleigh replied to Mr Barwell on Twitter: “The only solution you can think of is punishing the poor.”
Charities have warned that people could be made homeless while others would not be able to even reach the benefits cap.
Jad Adams, chair of homeless charity Nightwatch in Croydon, said: “The people we see are so poor they don’t even see this level of benefits.”
Mark Brown, project co-ordinator at Croydon homeless charity CAYSH, said: “The caps will unfortunately push up the numbers of homeless people in Croydon quite dramatically.”
Huge changes to the way people receive benefits across South West London have already come into effect over the Easter weekend.
A ‘bedroom tax’, a tax on spare rooms in social housing, was introduced yesterday and responsibility for council tax has been given to local councils.
