IDS - a very dangerous Tory

Next week, the Welfare Reform Bill will receive its second reading in the House of Commons. However, within its content there are significant problems. Already a number of charities and social care organisations have spoken against aspects of the Bill and, more recently, the Child Poverty Action Group has launched a legal challenge against the government’s plans to cap housing benefit from 1 April.

They told the Guardian newspaper it has "issued urgent proceedings for judicial review” on grounds that large areas of the south-east will no longer be affordable to the poor, with lone parents and ethnic minorities "disproportionately affected".

From April, weekly housing benefit payments cannot exceed £250 for a one bedroom flat, with a maximum £400 for a four bedroom house. Any excess in rent payments will have to be met by claimants via other means. The campaigners argue these changes will begin a forced migration of thousands of families – particularly in central London but soon after in the wider south. Only 7% of central London would be available for benefit tenants after the changes come in to force on 1 April – down from 52% the day before.

But these are far from the only problems in the Bill. Even the Church of England has voiced some concerns over its content. Speaking to the Guardian on the 22nd October, 2010, the Bishop of Blackburn said:

“The government has said that there will be personalised back-to-work support for those with the greatest barriers to employment. However, among this group are those people who are chronically sick and disabled. Sometimes it may seem that they have a remission of their illness sufficient to enable them to do some kind of work and at other times their illness makes this impossible. The prospects for this group are bleak under the new allowance arrangement. At the end of a year receiving the employment and support allowance, they will be "means tested" for future benefits or be faced with finding a job which they can fit around their unpredictable condition."

The Bishop is not alone in his fears. The charity, Family Action, which provides support to socially disadvantaged families, has argued:

“But perhaps most worryingly of all, the Universal Credit Impact Assessment admits that questions around childcare remain unresolved. Under some of the proposals for childcare costs hinted at in the white paper, some parents could end up paying ten times more towards their childcare costs from their own pockets than they do at present (a reduction from 97% to 70%). Parents who would otherwise be better off under the Universal Credit could end up considerably worse off as a result of these proposals if they have high childcare costs. In some circumstances they could pay to take on extra working hours, if this means that they have to pay for additional hours of childcare.”

So why are the Tories proceeding so heartlessly without taking into account the views of so many people? The answer is not so simple.

There are three key players moving the Bill through its stages in the House of Commons – Chris Grayling, Steve Bell and, of course the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith,

Grayling is an old style Tory with traditional values. He is steeped in the traditions associated with Conservativism, including the ‘value and need to work’ and personal responsibility.
He has previously held high office, but after a rather unpleasant homophobic incident was pushed down a level in Citizen Dave’s selection of Government ministers. Make no mistake, he wants Iain Duncan Smith’s job and will do anything to get it. He lacks the intellectual capacity of IDS, but is nobody’s fool and whilst it suits him, he will campaign vociferously for the Bill.

Steve Webb is rather different. A Liberal democrat who has sat rather comfortably around Tory circles since last May. He was the Lib Dem spokesperson for Work and Pensions in the past, though tended to shine more as an expert on pensions, rather than welfare benefits.

Ideologically, Webb leans more to the left and as wants a fairer welfare system. It has long been his contention that Universal Credits will ’level the playing field’ and. He has yet to comment on the many arguments against aspects of the Bill and will want to be seen as being loyal to Clegg and the Cabinet – partly because he has some idea of seeking the leadership himself at some future stage in his career and does not want to do anything to blot his copy book..

Iain Duncan Smith is different. He was thrown out of office as leader of the Conservative Party and spent many years in the political wilderness He wasn’t wasting his time. At the bequest of Citizen Dave, he set up the Centre for Social Justice, a right-wing think-tank dedicated to offering a more traditional view on social issues. His position as Chair and Founder of the Centre allowed him to meet the charismatic figure of Debbie Scott, the Chief Executive of welfare to work charity, Tomorrow’s People. Here he discovered a whole arena of social problems relating to unemployment and his mission became to talk to large numbers of those affected by poverty.
It led Peter Watt, the past Secretary of the Labour Party to say of him:

“Take the example of welfare policy. Listen to Labour and the assumption is that IDS wants to punish the poor, somehow that he gets off on increasing vulnerable people's suffering. What we don't think is that he wants to improve the lives of the poor but just doesn't think that the current incarnation of the welfare state is the best way to achieve this.”

It is a realistic analysis. IDS is not ‘your typical Tory’ - he doesn’t want to smash the poor, or create a divided Britain. He genuinely believes the existing welfare system is broken and his reforms will bring about greater opportunity for all. He genuinely feels many people on incapacity benefit have been sidelined and need help back into work and he truly thinks Flexible New Deal was a disaster and his new Work Programme will be the solution.

Of course, the evidence says he is wrong and many readers of this blog will know I have outlined many of my concerns on previous pages. But we should not batch IDS into the same pot as Citizen Dave or any of his toff friends. Certainly IDS comes from a privileged background and has never experienced poverty, but do not fall into the mistaken assumption he doesn’t care – he does – unfortunately, his values and beliefs have directed him to conclusions that will continue to divide this country.

Make no mistake – Citizen Dave and his Tory cronies are a nasty smear on British politics, but their political naïveté will ultimately be their own downfall. Iain Duncan Smith is ideologically driven and has a very clear mind of the society he wants to bring about – and that makes him the most dangerous kind of Tory. We have yet to see the worst of IDS. Watch this space.