Benefits

Benefits

‘Err, um, err, good morning gentlemen. You, Ian Dando Brown, are the minister for unemployment, benefits and pensions and you are the shadow minister for the same, Liam Burn?’

      ‘Morning Evan, yes that’s right, I have the honour of being in the front line to sort out the mess that labour left during their ineffectual time in office.’

      ‘Hi Evan, yes, I am the one who has to expose the con trick that this government is carrying out on the hard working families in this country.’

      ‘So Mr Burn, would that be the shirkers that you have referred to twice in your recent speeches ?’

      ‘Err, well I was speaking metaphorically then Evan.’

      ‘Right, so you don’t agree with Mr Dando here that working people should get paid more than anyone on benefits because they, by your definition, are also hard working people?’

      ‘I think the best way to help people on benefits is not to penalise them by stopping their benefits but to help them back into work.’

      ‘So you don’t agree with any of the government’s proposed cuts and in fact, you have voted against all of them since this government came into office?’

      ‘Absolutely Evan. We stand full square behind the working people of this country and will continue to oppose taking money out of the pockets of working families.’

      ‘That all sounds very laudable until you examine the effects of that policy. If you refuse to support any cuts then the deficit will continue to rise. If the deficit rises, the government has to pay out more money in interest each month to the banks, making them richer than they already are. So you, Mr Burn, are saying that the labour party’s policy is to continue with the enrichment of the banks by taking money out of the tax payer’s pockets? I think that slogan will be an excellent vote winner, ‘ Support the banks, vote labour.’

      ‘No, no, err, of course that isn’t what I meant.’

      ‘So you do support the government cuts and will vote to cap the benefits to a 1% increase each year for the next three years?’

      ‘No, I didn’t say that.’

      ‘So what are you saying? Do you support the cuts or not?’

      ‘Well that depends, of course, on what cuts you are talking about’

      ‘I’ll pass the baton to you Mr Burn. You tell me and our listeners what cuts you do support.’

      ‘Well obviously I cannot write our manifesto for the next general election here and now on the twoday programme. No one would expect me to do that.’

      ‘I think our listeners will have also given up expecting a straight answer from you by now, Mr Burn, don’t you. To misquote your parting shot as you left office: ‘Good luck, there is no truth left.’

*

Perhaps I can turn to you now Minister. Why do you think it is right to take money from the poorest in our society? Surely 1% to someone on benefits means more than to, say one of labour’s banker friends.

      ‘I think that is an unfair thing to say Evan and is really ---/

      ‘Thank you Liam, you have had your chance, I would really like to hear what Mr Brown has to say now.’

      ‘If I can set the scene here, Evan. The cost of benefits to the tax payer has increased by forty times since the welfare state was set up in 1948. The country simply cannot afford to continue spending on welfare at the same rate that labour ramped it up to during their time in government. They were desperate to bribe the electorate with their own money to vote for them at the general election in 2010. It is fortunate that we have an educated electorate who could see through that.

      This government has the unenviable job of trying to sort out the mess that labour left.They have not learned the lesson of their folly and they still continue to vote against every reform we try to make.’

      ‘Thank you for that party political broadcast Minister. Perhaps I could now be awkward and ask you to answer my question? Do you remember what it was?’

      ‘Yes, of course Evan and I am very happy to answer. Public sector workers have had two years of a pay freeze now so how can it be right that these people are getting less money while those on benefits continue to increase their income – up by 5.2% in 2012 remember. We need to reduce the incentives to stay on benefits and get people back to work.’

      ‘So you agree with Liam here, that is just what he said. I am interested though in the fact that you always compare the incomes of unemployed people on benefits with public sector workers, why not compare them with, for example, higher paid people in the private sector who have just received a 5% cut in their tax bill which will amount to at least several hundred pounds while a 1% rise in job seeker’s allowance will result in less that one hundred pounds a year?

      That 5% will probably be spent on an extra foreign holiday, some luxury goods produced abroad or some exotic tax free investment scheme while the unemployed will probably spend the small amount of extra cash on basic goods and services in their neighbourhood so supporting local shops and businesses which will then create more jobs within those businesses.’

      ‘I can see that you used to be an economist Evan before you transferred to the dark side.’

      ‘So you plan to evade the question just like Liam here?’

      ‘The point is Evan that we have to reduce public spending. The 5% tax cut for higher paid people is just to reverse the cynical political tax increase that labour put on 34 days before the last general election. That 50% rate was driving people abroad and they were taking their businesses with them. The welfare bill is the largest part of public spending so we have to reduce that and we have to make it worthwhile to work rather than to stay on benefits.’

      ‘You seem to have the opinion that you need to take money from the poor to incentivise them to work harder but the rich need money given to them to incentivise them? How does that work?’

      ‘In general, the rich have got rich by working hard and building successful businesses, they incentivise themselves whereas we feel the poor would be a lot better with a job rather thasn languishing on benefits – which are paid for by the hard working people who do go out to work. That is why, in April, we are giving lower earners the biggest tax cut they have ever had and, in the process, taking some two million people out of tax altogether.

      We have to reduce the deficit to cut the money that we are, as you pointed out Evan, paying to the bank in interest, rebalance the economy more towards the private sector which is increasing the available jobs faster than at any time since records began, meaning that there are jobs available for people to take up. We have to support that change and so encourage people back to work and ensure it is worthwhile them taking those jobs.’

      ‘That is all very well, but how are you going to convince people that your policy is working?’

      ‘You just have to look at the figures, Evan. There are more people employed in the British economy than ever before in our history. There are now jobs available if people are prepared to look for them.’

      ‘You mean the unemplyed should get on their bike?’

      ‘I didn’t say that.’

      ‘Just as well perhaps minister.