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Labour has tied itself in knots over welfare reform

3 1
02.07.2025

The problem with having principles is that they’re very expensive. This is proving an enormous headache for Starmer’s government, which is still trying to slash disability benefits in plain sight rather than raise taxes, only to be forced into another embarrassing U-turn by hundreds of its own backbenchers. These rebel MPs kicked up a fuss on the basis that they didn’t run for office to push hundreds of thousands of disabled people into poverty.

Most of these MPs ran for office on the basis of not being Tories. The party leadership apparently believed that it could legislate like Tories and get away with it, but to get away with that sort of flagrant regressive policy, you have to be – well, a Tory.

Underpinning it all is the conviction that there is something shameful about poverty

That’s the downside of liberalism as a lifestyle choice. You can’t just show up with unbrushed hair and a swindler’s grin and expect a round of applause. You have to do vulgar things like telling the truth and being accountable to the public. There’s nothing inherently embarrassing about changing your mind on the basis of new information – unless the new information is that you haven’t a clue what you stand for, and you’re out of step with........

© The Spectator