Really, Mr Cameron?

The BBC website - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27927843 - is reporting David Cameron as claiming that £80bn has been saved by the cap on HB:

The prime minister told the BBC: “We’ve made serious savings in the welfare budget - something like £80bn overall is the amount of money we’ve saved because we capped housing benefit.

“We’ve put a cap on the amount of welfare an individual family can receive so you’re always better off in work than on welfare.”

Speechless…

‘Prime Minister David Cameron told the BBC: “We’ve made serious savings in the welfare budget - something like £80bn overall is the amount of money we’ve saved because we capped housing benefit.’

Apparently Duncan-Smith claimed £83bn savings back in 2013 and was challenged via a FoI request [I assume we’re talking about the same figures here]

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ids_claims_83bn_saved

DWP reply contains the significant statement :
‘The £83bn is a Conservative Campaign HQ figure; please see attached spreadsheet.’

The spreadsheet covers 2010-2016 so the politicians are claiming they ‘have made’ (note the past tense used by PM) savings that have not actually been made yet.

The total saving is also that claimed for all their measures, not just capping HB.

The massive losses on UC -  so far - appear not to be mentioned.

Misrepresentation, Mr Cameron. That’s a naughty thing in benefits terms. You’d have to pay your benefits back. Ooops, you don’t need them, you’re a fit and healthy multi-millionaire.

I wouldnt trust the BBC to tell me the time of day anymore.

50,000 people on anti austerity march went completely unreported by the Beeb at the weekend.
Not on teletext pages, news broadcasts or even BBC news on-line.

Like it never happened.

Good news about Prince whats his name getting a new helicopter though, and a 4 million refit to his house, courtesy of us lot!

Anyway, I think these inflated figures of “savings” is just to create the mindset of an incredibly bloated and over generous benefit system, therefore justifying some more incredibly savage cuts after 2015.