The measure is just the tip of the British state’s anti-family iceberg. But as with so many of our other problems, it commands strong (if short-sighted) public support.
The Conservative Party must not get locked into thinking that improving the efficiency of the public sector will make the sums add up either. We need to move away from ‘The Crisis Management State’ to ‘The Preventative State’.
Sharp cliff-edges mean that the partners of high earners could find it very difficult to justify the expense of returning to employment.
Universal Support was always meant to sit alongside Universal Credit, specifically focused on helping written-off groups. But it was cut by an impecunious Treasury.
“Long term, sustainable, healthy growth that pays for our NHS and schools, finds jobs for young people, and provides a safety net for older people all whilst making our country one of the most prosperous in the world.”
Dealing with mental health issues or traffic violations leaves our forces with less time to tackle the crimes we rightly expect them to solve.
It is absurd to keep demanding citizens prove their identity whilst making a pious stand against giving them an easy way to do so.
Such a policy, already successfully delivered in Manchester, could transform thousands of lives by helping those who are willing, but not yet able, back into work.
Recent governments have strained to take ever-larger numbers out of income tax whilst maintaining a large welfare state. The problem is whether this is sustainable.
Ministers can make the system more generous, easier to access, and contributory – but must rediscover their appetite for reform.
Our new paper from the Adam Smith Institute finds there is more political space to deliver one than the politicians might imagine.
Courts left trying to work out whether benefit levels, pensions, or other cash transfers are enough to avoid poverty, with the public spending consequences not figuring at all.
The pandemic showed that the current safety net has big gaps in it. Here’s how to fill them without further draining the public purse.
For every new Universal Credit Claimant without enough savings to cover the five-week wait, we should start paying benefits at the same frequency as they were being paid in their previous job.
The thirteenth article in a new series on ConHome about how government might be made smaller, taxpayers better off and and society stronger – through strong families, better schools and good jobs.