‘Ministers have left themselves open to criticism they are trying to balance the books on the backs of the most vulnerable through welfare reforms,’ writes Mirror Political Editor Lizzy Buchan
Keir Starmer faces one of his biggest tests yet as plans to slash billions of pounds from the welfare bill are unveiled.
Leaked details sparked alarm as millions of people claiming Personal Independence Payments (PIP) feared a real-terms cut to the lifeline payment.
The plans for a freeze have now been dropped, with one source suggesting No10 was taken aback by the level of outrage.
But while this decision has been welcomed, the package is still likely to be a bitter pill to swallow.
The Prime Minister is right that the welfare system is broken, with too many stuck without support to get back to work or trapped in a cruel and labyrinthine system.
The costs are also spiralling, with the bill for sickness and disability benefits forecast to hit £70billion-a-year by the end of the decade.
One in eight young people aren’t in work, education or training, giving them a terrible start to life.
And claims relating to mental health or behavioural conditions have rocketed since the pandemic.
There is a good argument to be made for the benefit of getting people back into work if they can – both for the economy and for their own sakes.
But the Government has been struggling to make it.
By positioning the welfare cuts alongside Rachel Reeves’s Spring Statement, it has left ministers open to criticism that they are trying to balance the books on the backs of the most vulnerable.
And it makes laudable efforts to fix a deep-rooted societal problem look rushed.
The chaotic communication has upset MPs from all sides of the party, whose disabled constituents have been left in a fearful limbo.
There have been rumblings of dissent from Cabinet and many trade union leaders are also deeply uneasy.
Mr Starmer was left with a miserable legacy by the Tories and he is striving to be radical to fix some of the most intractable problems dogging Britain.
But while there must be sympathy for the toxic inheritance, the reforms will have profound consequences for millions of people who deserve our sympathy more.
