Another brick in the wall.

It seems to me that there should be an independent commission (Royal Commission?) into how social security is operating, although I don’t have faith in the current model of government (which needs drastic reform), so don’t believe anything would be taken on board.

I might be missing something, but I don’t hear much noise from the Labour Party about the current changes and have have come to the the conclusion that they are content for the coalition to take the heat for the cuts. Social security is linextricably inked to wider econonmic issues, but it appears that although politicians understand the cost of everything they won’t or can’t address the wider issues and are content to rely on the lazy thinking tabloid model. Using terms such as ‘festering on benefits’ is indicative of the mentality at work, as is the inclusion in the ESA descriptors of the use of a wheelchair for people with mobility problems (try persuading an ocupational therapist on that idea).

It’s the same with the concept of regional pay that was originally conceived by ‘New Labour’. National rates provide an injection of econmic life into the remotest areas of the country and also allow a percentage of aspirational young people to remain in their local communities.

We are heading for an almighty mess: there are few wise heads in government or opposition, although they are in charge of the big levers. Fewer and fewer people see the ballot box as relevant and we are heading for economic growth of zero. It’s not a good place to be.