‘Welfare suicides’ are awful, but they’re still a red herring

One of my first jobs as a junior reporter was covering the inquest of a man who had committed suicide at the end of a legal battle against a rise in his rent. His council house had been transferred to a housing association, and the rents were set to rise by £5 a week. Like all inquests, it was a grisly affair. It took evidence from a sobbing young relative, and included the details of how he killed himself.

This case was a terribly sad mess, and there doubtless should have been more support at hand for a man frightened about falling into arrears with his rent. But his death did not stop the housing association putting up its rents, and nor should it have done, as the rise was to fund work on the homes to bring them up to a decent standard. His death was a tragedy for his family, not a sign that his landlord was doing the wrong thing.