Since losing the 2010 General Election, we've seen some soul-searching and 'apologies' from Labour in respect of policy decisions they now appear to think might have been wrong. Some have been refreshing (admissions that more ought to have been done to control the City and Financial Services industries, contrition over the Iraq War) others thoroughly depressing (apologies over 'immigration' surely playing into the hands of the Tories and those to their right).
I'm waiting for the apology for Employment and Support Allowance, though I fear I'll wait in vain, but in fact the apology needs to be somewhat more comprehensive. I saw the following comment from 'Buzzoff2015' in the 'Guardian on an item suggesting lack of enthusiasm for 'Welfare Reform' rhetoric from Nick Clegg, which makes what on the face of it sounds like an audacious claim.
"The government of 1997-2010 were harsher on benefit claimants than any who came before them since at least 1948.
Social security spending by GDP fell.
Claims for most benefits fell.
Those paid more tax credits than they should have got through no fault of their own were pursued mercilessly and without regard to the consequences.
Incapacity Benefit was introduced in 1995, before new claims were stopped by Labour in 2008 as they introduced ESA and the hated Work Capability Assessment. Over that 11 year period they were in control of it, Incapacity Benefit barely rose and even began falling in 2004, which continued right up until ESA was brought in.
The Labour government did not cancel the Benefit Integrity Project, intended to find fraud among Disability Living Allowance claimants where there was virtually none(and denying that was the purpose, laughably).
They increased the number of benefit fraud investigators.
They briefed the newspapers against claimants just as the current government are doing.
They brought in the embryonic workfare programmes.
They presided over the sharpest decrease in Lone Parents claiming Income Support since that decrease started in the 90s and since there had been a Lone Parents category eligible for support.
They changed the Department of Social Security into the Department of Work and Pensions, in the never-ending war against the very idea of 'social security', to make claimants more vulnerable to marginalisation and stigma.
Labour's record is atrocious, but is exactly what the misinformed public at large wanted from them. It was to their advantage that they were misrepresented as being 'soft' because it gave them license to do whatever they wanted."
I'd love to be able to counter that with a lot of 'yes but...' examples, but apart from suggesting that the road to the what for too many was the Hell of Tax Credit overpayments was paved with good intentions, I'm stuck for a defence.
