Welfare

A protest in Trafalgar Square in 1990 against the poll tax.
Will this be the coalition’s poll tax moment?
By George Eaton - 10 January 12:20

The 10 per cent cut to Council Tax Benefit will force many to pay the tax for the first time. It could prove the most disastrous of the coalition's welfare reforms.

An estate in Rochdale, named the most deprived area in UK. Photo: Getty
The welfare debate and the end of reason
By Alex Andreou - 09 January 18:26

The way in which the entire debate on benefits seems to be taking place entirely outside the realms of logic seems unprecedented, says Alex Andreou.

Former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy.
Who are the Lib Dem welfare rebels?
By George Eaton - 09 January 10:21

Four Lib Dems, including Sarah Teather and Julian Huppert, voted against the bill and two abstained.

Former Labour foreign secretary David Miliband. Photograph: Getty Images.
David Miliband's speech against the Welfare Uprating Bill: full text
By David Miliband - 08 January 17:24

"It is intolerable then to blame the unemployed for their poverty and our deficit."

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith. Photograph: Getty Images.
The poorest and the disabled are hit hardest by the benefit cuts
By George Eaton - 08 January 15:52

The government's Impact Assessment shows that the poorest 10 per cent of households lose the most from the decision to raise benefits by just 1 per cent.

A young girl playing in an an alleyway in Manchester. Photograph: Getty Images.
The coalition's cap on benefit increases will mean a surge in child poverty
By Alison Garnham - 08 January 12:21

Raising benefits by less than the rate of inflation is a poverty-producing policy.

Chancellor George Osborne leaves 11 Downing Street. Photograph: Getty Images.
Why the Welfare Uprating Bill deserves to be defeated
By George Eaton - 08 January 9:34

Osborne's plan to cut benefits will force more of the poorest families to choose between heating and eating.

Goal posts stand in a children's park in the Gorton area of Manchester.
Our welfare system is broken, but Labour and the Tories just trade myths
By Rafael Behr - 04 January 17:13

Rather than arguing about policy and practice, both parties encourage a futile debate about motivation and motive.

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls. Photograph: Getty Images.
Balls's job guarantee is a left-wing idea wrapped in right-wing rhetoric
By Hannah Meltzer - 04 January 16:29

Labour's 'tough' message risks encouraging the belief that benefit claimants seek to avoid work.

Young people outside a job centre in central London. Photograph: Getty Images.
The poll that shows Labour can win the argument over benefits
By George Eaton - 04 January 14:23

The better educated people are about the benefits system, the less likely they are to support the coalition's reforms.

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