THE story that had everyone talking across the political spectrum last week was the delay of the implementation by the House of Lords of £4.4 billion in cuts to tax credits.

The unusual intervention by the House of Lords had the Tory chancellor frothing at the mouth.

It is somewhat amusing to see the Tories suddenly concerned about the unelected nature of the House of Lords – funny how they didn’t have similar concerns while they were stuffing it full of their own cronies.

I have always been opposed to the existence of the upper chamber – I have been open about this, as has the SNP.

In fact, since the SNP’s formation we have not only opposed the House of Lords but we have never once nominated a lord to be appointed.

That is not because I believe that every single peer is bad to the core – it is based on the principle that the system is simply and fundamentally undemocratic.

Sure, the House of Lords has its fair share of out-of-touch, champagne-sipping dandies. However, there will also be some lords who are disgusted by the ideologically-driven cuts to welfare being forced on us by the current Tory government.

Regardless of how I feel about the HoL I am relieved for working families across the UK that sense won out in the tax credit vote in the upper house last week.

When these cuts were first proposed earlier this year, our SNP MPs immediately rallied and voted against it.

It would have left parents in Scotland and across the UK who are already struggling to feed their families and heat their homes as much as £1000 worse off each year.

However, the UK government ploughed on ahead despite objections from third sector support groups, 58 of 59 Scottish MPs, and the Institute of Fiscal Studies.

That it needed to come to this, to the House of Lords breaking convention to halt the process, is a sign of just how downright damaging and dangerous these cuts could be.

None of us dispute that the welfare system needs reform.

This isn’t reform – these are poorly disguised cuts which are devastating the lives of our most vulnerable people.

For some this is even a matter of life and death – earlier this year we found out that more than 2,000 people have died soon after being found ‘fit for work’ by the Department of Work and Pensions between 2011-2014.

In addition, the DWP has had to investigate over 60 suicides following the reduction or withdrawal of benefits.

These stories are harrowing and far too commonplace. For two weeks in a row now leader of the SNP group at Westminster Angus Robertson MP has asked the Prime Minister for the publication of reports into these suicides but still the UK government continues to obfuscate and deny.

We cannot stand by while people continue to be cruelly punished for mental illness and driven to destitution by the DWP.

This vote by the House of Lords has only guaranteed a three year delay to the tax credit cuts – it’s time for the Tories to face up to the dire consequences of cuts, sanctions and work assessments and start treating people with respect and dignity.