Will the Tories have the wit to save Universal Credit – and themselves?

The row over Universal Credit is a reminder that reforming welfare is the toughest job in politics. The question, right now, is whether it’s too tough – and whether the government, distracted by Brexit and unable to defend its own successes, might give up on – or ‘pause’ – its flagship welfare reform.

The UK benefits system governs the lives of millions, and its failures meant that a million people were out of work for every one of the Labour boom years. We ended up with a system where those trying to move from welfare to work, or escape low pay, were keeping just 10p of every extra £1 they earned. And they were forgotten, written off as the ‘hard to reach’.

The history of UC is already been rewritten by the Corbynites, who have long wanted to portray it as the Tory Death Star. And if the shields of that Death Star are down, with no one defending UC and the flustered Esther McVey going to ground, then it’s time to attack.