The response to James Purnell’s welfare proposals has been near-unanimously positive. Here at Coffee House Towers, the feeling – outlined by Fraser here – is that they’re a positive step towards getting some of the UK’s 5.1 million benefit-claimants back into work. And even Purnell’s opposite number, Chris Grayling, has been gracious enough to call the proposals “the right package” (whilst also claiming that they’ve been nabbed from the Tories).
There’s one major dissenter though – Frank Field. He went on the attack on Today this morning, arguing that the proposals still place too much stress on claimants getting a higher rate of benefit. But it’s his later suggestion that the Purnell reforms will not “see the light of day” that really grabs attention.
What does Field have in mind? Could he be referring to Brown’s roadblock-to-reform-ery? Perhaps. Or could it be that he believes the public won’t swallow the reforms during a time of economic hardship? Again, maybe. But I suspect he’s making a far less spiky point. After all – and as David Hughes points out over at Three Line Whip – Purnell’s suggestions are only at the Green Paper stage. With Labour in the doldrums, that means there’ll most likely be no time for Purnell to actually enact his reforms before the next general election. In turn, that indicates that they’ll either never appear, or they’ll be left for a Tory government. As it stands, the latter is looking most likely.
So, why is Purnell bothering? Partly a commitment to solving Britain’s welfare crisis, I’m sure. But I think Hughes identifies the main reason – despite the inherent quality of Purnell’s work, the timing of it smacks of leadership manoeuvring. With Brown entering the summer recess under seige from all sides, Purnell is ensuring that he gets favourable coverage as a Great Reformer. And he’s doing so whilst missing out on the tricky bit – actually applying the reforms in the real world.
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