As an action plan to tackle bloated state spending, it could hardly be more ambitious. Reform’s Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick‘s declaration that he would slash an enormous £50billion from the benefits bill was a statement of intent far more radical than anything any other party is proposing.
And, goodness knows, radical thinking is needed. The vast budget of the benefits system already accounts for almost a quarter of all government spending and is expected to reach more than £407billion by 2030.
It is a sum that, far from being a badge of compassion, suggests a country in the grip of political dysfunction.
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