OPINION
Keir Starmer is battling a Labour revolt (Image: Getty)
The political adage “you campaign in poetry; you govern in prose” can never have been more apt. Even as this is being written, Sir Keir Starmer and his aides are battling to try and defuse a Labour revolt over the flagship policy of welfare reform. This despite a climbdown in the early hours of Friday morning that marked his third U-turn IN A MONTH!
Last week was when idealism was replaced with realism – and the PM’s relationship with scores of his own MPs deteriorated beyond recognition. But as rebels toast their victory in hobbling the Government, and celebrate as they signal they could cling to a position where a Government defeat looms despite a triple-digit majority, here are some other numbers they might want to consider.
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The sickness benefits bill has soared from ￡50 billion a year before the pandemic to ￡80 billion a year now – and is set to be over ￡100 billion in just five years.
The nation is saddled with so much debt the interest payment alone is ￡108 billion a year and 1,000 new applications for benefits are filed each day with the Department of Work and Pensions.
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Are you buying that ALL 1,000 are genuine? No, me neither. Just as many of those who benefit from the wildly generous Motability Car Scheme will be entirely valid, bogus claims in a system that provides 815,000 cars to people who suffer with everything from bedwetting (enuresis) to Munchausen’s syndrome is going to be exploited by many.
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Indeed, the fleet grew by a staggering 170,000 just last year. Having digested the figures, when you now realise Sir Keir’s reforms had been designed to save just ￡5 billion, suddenly the necessity of these measures becomes plain.
Fortunately, I’m not currently in receipt of any benefits as I’m able to work and have no mobility issues so am not close enough to the coal face of this debate – but plenty of the listeners to my weekday breakfast show are, and they told me some harrowing stories last week.
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Those who appeared to have genuine needs deserving of a PIP (Personal Independence Payment) told how they were informed their payments would be cut while many, many others shared infuriating stories of family members, neighbours and workmates who were picking up thousands in bogus claims.
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Candidly, the next time you go into your local town centre just look at the number of people using electric buggies that we have provided and ask yourself if they can ALL be valid.
But for many Labour MPs, this seems to matter little. They complain they “didn’t come into politics to cut the benefits of the needy” but when asked to identify where the cuts could be made, they resort to more rambling nonsense than you’d see on a Brussels waffle stand.
All of which leaves Sir Keir and his team facing an inconvenient truth: if they can’t muster enough support to push through a policy which will save just ￡5 billion, what does it mean for the loftier ambitions they’ve espoused?