Time to end benefits 'blame culture' says Labour's work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall
17 August 2024, 23:52
Labour's Work and Pensions Secretary has called for an end to the 'blame' culture and 'divisive rhetoric' over benefits as she pledged to end 'salami slicing' of the benefits bill undertaken by consecutive Conservative governments.
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Liz Kendall also warned that rising welfare spending is unsustainable and that a larger overhaul was needed to fix a “broken” back-to-work system.
She told The Observer that more people than the population of London were now considered economically inactive across the UK and tacking the system was “one of the biggest challenges the country faces”.
Ms Kendall also trailed major reforms to the benefits system that she believed has failed many who have found themselves out of work.
A near record 2.8 million people are now out of work due to long-term sickness, she warned.
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Ms Kendall - who took over the brief from the Conservative's Mel Stride last month after the general election - also accused the Tory opposition of using anti-welfare rhetoric when people are in genuine need of help.
She also addressed concerns that welfare will face small cuts when Rachel Reeves announced her first budget in the autumn after warning last month of a £22m shortfall inherited from the previous government.
Ms Kendall said she would not make reform “merely about cuts" nor continue "divisive rhetoric that blames people and doesn’t support them".
She accused predecessor Tory governments of having a “salami slicing" approach to cuts.
“We’ve never seen more people written off," she said. "The last parliament was the worst for economic inactivity on record.
"It is for us to put this right. But we will need big reforms and big changes. I know people worry about this, but I want to say, we are on your side.
"We are not going to write you off and blame you. We take our responsibilities seriously. We’re going to bust a gut to give you the support you need to build a better life.”
She also turned to projected increases in welfare spending, telling the paper: “I do not think it’s sustainable when you’re seeing those levels of increases, but we can do something about it.”
The Chancellor has already warned that she will be forced to make “difficult decisions” as she accused the previous government of leaving £21.9 billion of unfunded commitments that it had “covered up from the country”.
In a statement to Parliament earlier this month, she set out “immediate action” to address the shortfall by £5.5 billion, with the rest of the gap to be addressed at the Budget.
But her predecessor Jeremy Hunt claimed around half of the “black hole” in spending was down to her deciding to give above-inflation pay rises to millions of public sector workers.
Ms Reeves announced during the statement she would agree recommendations by a raft of public sector pay review bodies, while also agreeing to hike junior doctors’ pay by around 20 per cent over two years.
In a hint that taxes may have to increase, Ms Reeves said the Budget will “involve taking difficult decisions to meet our fiscal rules across spending, welfare and tax”.
Ms Reeves’ statement to the Commons came after she ordered Treasury officials to undertake an audit of public spending when Labour came to office.
Among the spending commitments cancelled by the Chancellor are plans for the Stonehenge Tunnel, and to restore some previously closed railway lines, ending the Rwanda migration scheme, and abandoning Rishi Sunak’s “Advanced British Standard” in education, arguing the former prime minister “didn’t put aside a single penny to pay for it”.
A Treasury spokesperson said: “As we said yesterday, there will be further difficult decisions on tax and spending at the Budget on October 30.
“The Chancellor has not committed to any tax rises not already in the manifesto and has committed to not increasing national insurance, VAT or income tax.”
