Punishing the poor

On 21st July 2008, the Government unveiled its latest plans for welfare reform in a new Green Paper, announced by Work & Pensions Secretary James Purnell.

The Conservatives welcomed the proposals, claiming Labour had stolen their ideas. So what are they. An article on Comment is Free by Professor Gregor Gall explains exactly what is being proposed and why we should oppose it. Rather than being stolen from the Tories, these policies trace their ancestry back to the workhouse and the 'work for dole' schemes in Wisconsin.

John McDonnell MP said, “At a time of increasing unemployment such draconian measures will not only prove counter-productive, but the requirement for forced labour and the greater harassment of disabled people is a moral disgrace.”

Jeremy Corbyn MP said, “The whole history of the Labour Party has been supporting a comprehensive welfare state to ensure that no-one ended up either homeless or destitute. The green paper does not seem to bare any resemblance to the principles of the Labour Party”

Mark Serwotka, PCS General Secretary, said. “These proposals are regressive and draconian, going further than even Thatcher dared in the 1980s. The government should be working with people to get them back into employment rather penalising and threatening them”

This proposals are the neoliberalisation of welfare.