In defence of welfare

Last week, on Monday the CIPD released figures forecasting that the rate of public sector job cuts would be 50% higher than that forecast by the OBR; meaning job cuts of around 610,000. On Tuesday the IFS forecast two years “dominated by a large decline” in incomes, with 600,000 children set to fall into poverty. Then on Wednesday it was announced that unemployment has reached its highest level in 17 years, with over 2.5 million people out of work. To top it all off last Tuesday inflation hit 5.2%.

It’s been a pretty sobering fortnight for the government, who are still struggling to come to terms with the fact that they’ve simply got it wrong on the economy. But there’s an equally important underlying issue  – welfare.

The figures announced recently are pretty shocking, but are made worse when you think of every individual person and family behind each statistic. An individual person or family whose livelihood has been devastated by a government so intent on persuing its ideological deficit reduction plan that it takes precious little time to consider the impact of its measures. As this Tory-led government recklessly swings the axe at the public sector, the wellbeing of so many people up and down this country is being put at serious risk. With employment prospects in such dire straits, we’ve been lucky in this country to have a strong and comprehensive welfare state – to help those who fall into difficulty. But even that is now under attack.

When I spoke at this year’s Labour Party Conference I said “two and a half years ago, the home I had lived in since birth was repossessed. We had nothing, no money, no savings. I owe my entire wellbeing and that of my family’s to the welfare state, that is why I joined that Labour Party, but that very same welfare state that is being ruthlessly ripped apart by this vicious and right wing Tory-led government”. The ensuing criticism in some sections of the media focused on my previous middle class, comfortable upbringing – something I have never denied or disputed. In fact, that’s something I believe reinforces the points I made – points I stand by more than ever. My family paid into the welfare system for years, and when we needed it, when things went wrong, it was there for us. What happened to us could happen to anybody, but the welfare state ensured we stayed on our feet. Surely that’s the beauty of the system?

But apparently not. Whilst the Tory-led government hampers people’s ability to find work, they are also hampering the wellbeing of those who cannot find work. Welfare claimants are admonished for being ‘lazy’, ‘idle’ and ‘scroungers’, labelling  actively encouraged and exasperated by this government. Such attitudes are so unhelpful, because whilst welfare recipients make easy scapegoats, the fact of the matter is that the vast majority rely on welfare because they have no other means to get by. That safety net, which should be there for all those 610,000 public sector workers who are to be told that they are surplus to requirements, is being ripped apart. All manner of benefits are facing the chop, all under the guise of helping people ‘get back to work’.

Cameron’s a good salesman but he’ll have a hard task wriggling his way out of the facts; unemployment rising, poverty soaring, wages stagnating.

The welfare state is a wonderful thing, but it needs defenders, now more than ever.