Plenty of attention for Nick Clegg’s listening, reading and smoking habits this morning, as well as his appearance on the Andrew Marr show. But it is another of Marr’s guests who has made
perhaps the most important intervention of the day: the shadow work and pensions secretary, Douglas Alexander. Here’s how the Beeb website reports it:
If true, then it leaves the the parties in a surprisingly similar position on welfare. Both Labour and the coalition would, broadly speaking, back the same benefit reforms. They would both support the expansion of workfare schemes. And even the battle over universal benefits has been tempered, although not called off, now that the coalition has decided not to cut Winter Fuel Allowance, bus passes and the like.“Mr Alexander also said he backed ‘in principle’ the coalition’s plan to replace all out-of-work benefits with a single ‘universal credit’ payment. He said such a move was ‘sensible’ but he would be ‘scrutinising’ the government ‘very carefully’ over its £2bn start-up costs.”
In terms of the eternal game of politics, this leaves Labour arguing the toss over specific benefit cuts and the pace of welfare reform. It may not make for clear-cut dividing lines, but we should welcome Alexander’s words today – and especially so if he means them. The more support the universal credit receives, the more progress can be made against poverty and welfare dependency.
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