STEPHEN POLLARD: Starmer should banish corrosive concept that self-responsibility is merely an choice
When Sir William Beveridge published his famous report in 1942, effectively creating the modern welfare state, he envisaged a system which would provide a safety net below which no one would be allowed to fall.
He would be horrified to see that today, living on welfare has, for many, become not a backstop but a lifestyle.
Today’s report from PwC shows that one in four under-25s have seriously considered dropping out of work for good – and most say that’s because of their mental health.
Shocking as that is, it isn’t remotely surprising when you consider the overall picture. Around 9.3 million people of working age are economically inactive. That’s 22 per cent of all adults below pensionable age.
Clearly, there are people with severe disabilities who really are unable to work. It is quite right that they are looked after.
But it is ludicrous to buy into the idea – as the welfare state now does – that nearly a quarter of all adults are genuinely unable to work.
Ludicrous it may be. But decades of politicians buying votes by constantly widening the criteria for benefits, and refusing to tackle the profound cultural change that easy access to welfare has brought about, have led us here.
The overall welfare bill is projected to hit £378 billion by the time of the next election. To put this in context, in 2023 we spent £182 billion on health, £116 billion on education and £54 billion on defence.
It is important that Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall sticks to her guns when she announces her plans tomorrow – and that she is not swayed by the backlash from the Left of the Labour Party
n the decade to 2023, for example, the number of adults below the pension age who were officially recognised as having a mental health-related disability jumped from 1.8 million to 5.1 million (stock image)
When Sir William Beveridge (pictured) published his famous report in 1942, effectively creating the modern welfare state, he envisaged a system which would provide a safety net below which no one would be allowed to fall
Overall, spending on disability and other incapacity benefits has soared by 40 per cent above inflation in the past decade (stock image)
The reason for this is relatively straightforward: an astonishing surge in the numbers who receive a benefit because they say they are unable to work. In the decade to 2023, for example, the number of adults below the pension age who were officially recognised as having a mental health-related disability jumped from 1.8 million to 5.1 million. And 23 per cent of the working-age population now receive a disability benefit.
Overall, spending on disability and other incapacity benefits has soared by 40 per cent above inflation in the past decade.
But this is not just a financial mess. The idea that the state will always provide – and that self-responsibility is merely an option – is deeply corrosive to society.
At the most basic level is the question: why should the rest of us be forced to pay taxes so that the workshy should be free to live on benefits? Why should there be two classes of citizen – those who contribute, and those who take? Being on benefits should be a last resort where there is no alternative.
Politicians of all parties have been guilty of letting the welfare system run out of control. Now, at last, it seems that we have a government that is willing to act. Just as only Nixon could go to China, so perhaps only Labour has the political cover to take the tough decisions.
That is why it so important that Sir Keir Starmer and Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall stick to their guns when she announces her plans tomorrow – and that they are not swayed by the backlash from the Left of the Labour Party.
Yesterday, there were worrying reports that she is dumping her original plan to freeze some disability benefits.
But Ms Kendall knows that reforming our out-of-control benefits system would change the country for the better. It is vital that the plans she comes up with mark a move away from benefits as a lifestyle choice.
If she delivers changes which do that, she and Sir Keir will go down as historic reformers.
