Their campaign was still in full flow during the brief period that I was Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. I was not persuaded by their arguments then and I am not persuaded now.
The campaign simply asks for fair compensation for the Department for Work and Pensions’ failure to inform them of this massive change to their state pension arrangements.
And this is the fundamental problem: it allows us to dodge a broader long-term industrial strategy, precisely because the short-term labour fix is so easy.
My argument is simply one of affordability (including, by the way, by dropping the triple lock) if our public finances are going to be sustainable.
There is a danger, not to mention an irony, in a conservatism that views a mother, carer, or retiree as just an inactive worker.
The Government’s approach is unlikely to bring out the best from those upon whom it depends to get things done.
His in-tray features: Covid, mental health, NHS reform…and social care. He’s set to be the most pressured Health Secretary since Lansley.
Looked at in the round, over the 2010-2016 period, the UK had the joint highest growth for a G7 economy, level with the US.
The second in our mini-series of pieces from the Centre for Social Justice on the virus – and helping those in deep poverty.
Duncan Smith names “five giants”: family breakdown, worklessness, serious personal debt, addiction and educational underachievement.
We need a long-term poverty strategy and a Social Justice Cabinet Committee. And here’s a Christmas holiday plan for childrens’ food.
The devolved Adult Education Budget ensures that every pound delivers more qualifications that employers actually want.
We should build an evidence-based early years policy that puts cash back in parents’ pockets so they can choose how best to care for their children.