So, there is a fundamental difference between a budget cap – as is the case here, and benefit cap, though people have tended to confuse the two. And you have to be suspicious of the probable intent lying somewhere behind that, especially when the BBCs Tory correspondent Nick Robinson admitted yesterday live on air that Cameron’s best chance of winning the next election is if people believe politicians are”‘all the same”. They are very clearly not. To clarify, the welfare cap does not actually limit funds for social security. It does, however, provide a mechanism for Parliamentary debate to address the structural drivers of higher benefits spending. It may be used to demand Government accountability and to highlight the real reasons why benefits have risen: a massive recession, an over-heating rental market, and the inadequate support and opportunities for those out of work. Rachel Reeves knew that it was unlikely that Iain Duncan Smith would manage to stay within the confines of the budget cap, because of his massive expenditure on program failures such as the Universal Credit. This is entirely about creating opportunity for scrutinising how the budget is spent by the Government. And it’s very clear that despite the fact that the Tories set the terms of the cap, this is a debate that Labour will win with ease.
Posted on: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 23:03:51 +0000
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