Withdrawing benefits when there are no jobs to find is just cruel

Tom Riddington, a NHS hosptial doctor, has written an article for the New Statesment, looking at the government’s welfare reform policies.

Nonetheless, the Conservative’s idea is perfectly valid: switch the emphasis from benefits to employment. Make it more profitable to work than to rely on the state. Enable all people from every part of society to determine their own existence, instead of being reliant on the whims of government funded charity. It’s a well known argument:give a man a fish, and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, he feasts for a lifetime.

Even when judged by their own standards, this government falls short. So far they’ve taken away the fish. This is the easy half, the half that abdicates state responsibility for the most vulnerable in society. Truly compassionate conservatism would be to ensure a reliable alternative income for each and every person who has their benefits withdrawn. Otherwise those previously trapped on handouts will be just as trapped, but without any financial support at all.

For the whole article, see Withdrawing benefits when there are no jobs to find is just cruel