The Sun has called on the government to “Make it Work”, to alleviate the financial pain during the Universal Credit switch-over to and beyond.

It is also calling on the Department of Work and Pensions to slash the taper rate and change the way childcare allowances are paid.

Politicians across party groups have pledged their support for the campaign, including Iain Duncan Smith, Damian Green and Frank Field.

Charities including Child Poverty Action Group, Save the Children, Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Turn2Us also backed the calls.

Kevin Watkins, chief executive of Save the Children, said: “Three cheers for The Sun’s brilliant campaign to stand up for hard-working families.

“The Government must change the system before even more families are pushed into the red as they wait for support.”

The campaign’s three strands are:

• Get paid faster: The Government must slash the time Brits wait for their first Universal Credit payments from five to two weeks, helping stop 7 million people from being pushed into debt
• Keep more of what you earn: The work allowance should be increased and the taper rate should be slashed from 63p to 50p, helping at least 4 million families
• Don’t get punished for having a family: Parents should get the 85 per cent of the money they can claim for childcare upfront, instead of being paid in arrears.