Defend the rights of the poor and needy

By Julian Ware-Lane /@warelane

Letters from a Tory is not a blog I visit very often. Thursday’s posting, The Left should be ashamed of themselves, is an example of why I usually avoid it.

Firstly, I cannot understand why the right think every scallywag out there is put there by the deliberate machinations of the Left. I and my fellow travellers do not support the idea of welfare dependency or achieve contentment when the system is cheated.

The reality is that however perfect society we have there will always be those who for one reason or another either miss out or look to exist without recourse to hard work. These people are not the invention of the welfare state.

What we have is a debate between the Left and the Right about reducing the numbers of those who live on benefits or are in need of other help. The Right seem to want a society that is all stick; the Left want some carrots too.

Getting on your bike and getting a job is only an appropriate response when there are jobs to go to. Job creation must be a part of the solution. Similarly, we must equip our citizens so that they are able take the jobs – schemes like Sure Start as well as an education system that looks after everyone are a necessity. We also need a mechanism that looks to reduce cheating (and make sure that entitlement is taken up – not much noise here about the millions in unclaimed benefits). I favour ID cards (and accept that this is a minority view).

Right-wing governments have seen unemployment as a ‘necessary evil’, and a tool for suppressing wages. This does not quite tally with the argument that “there is plenty of room for lower spending in the welfare system” – unless they intend to make indigent those who they have made workless.

There is something uneasy about the lynch-mob hysteria whipped up by people like the one who writes Letters from a Tory. Their assorted whipping boys are always those at the bottom rung of the ladder. Kicking someone when they are down is seen as cowardice where I come from; and giving those most in need is seen as compassionate.

Someone 2000 years ago uttered these words:

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

Still, since Letters from a Tory is so against families living off the state I am sure he will be applying, if he’s not already a member, to join Republic.