Westminster this week - Welfare Reform Bill dominates

We are reaching the end of the summer term of parliament this week, with long debates ahead on welfare reform, the finance Bill which enacts much of the budget, and questions to the Chancellor on Tuesday.
I am sure that today will also see a parliamentary discussion of the past usage of UK troops working with americans and other allies in actions against Isil. The Defence Secretary of State will make a statement I suspect at 3.30. The reality is that there is a huge difference between UK planes and specific forces flying sorties in Syria and a few individual pilots working with US forces as part of an embedded unit. For example, special forces from a host of different countries, have been working together on multiple missions in various places as part of embedded groups for decades.  

The longer term discussion that is going to have to be had at some stage is the issue of widening the air strikes against Isil from Iraq, where we already take part, to flights and missions using UK Aircraft over and in Syria, against Isil.  As the horror in Tunisia proved, both the terror group and its message is a threat to British citizens.  The border between Iraq and Syria is now real only on maps.  The argument is that it makes no sense to stop attacking ISIS’s forces when they flee to the latter side of it. Like many I will listen to the Defence Secretary at 3.30.
I have various constituency meetings in the next few days and then will be staying on in London to finish up a large amount of casework, correspondence and loose ends before heading north on Friday.

Welfare Reform Bill debate tomorrow will define Labour - back to the 1970s again or supporting change?

Tomorrow the Labour party will have to debate the second reading of the Welfare Reform Bill. It contains measures which the interim leader, Harriet Harman, said a week ago that Labour would not oppose.

Except that Corbyn, Burnham and Cooper [3 out of 4 leadership candidates] then said that actually they would oppose it. So Harriet backtracked and tried to come up with some sort of compromise that the warring factions of Labour can more or less agree on.

So, whereas previously the welfare reforms were ones which Labour should not oppose because people “want us to listen to their concerns and we’ve got to recognise why it is that the Tories are in government”, now they are unacceptable and hurt the poor. Todays Labour Party are oblivious to the way that the welfare system has caused millions of people to lead miserable, benefit-dependent lives without satisfaction or dignity. They should embrace universal credit, the Living Wage, the benefit cap and the reforms that will create a benefits system that helps people back to work, giving them hope of a brighter future. This will be a crucial test for Labour. Will it finally stand up for refrom, for people who work hard and do the right thing, and for those who want a way out of welfare? Or will it carry on with an approach that has failed our country.

Miliband will never reform welfare

Labour have opposed every reduction in welfare spending over the last 4 years. Every single one.

Indeed Miliband has made it clear that he wants welfare spending to go up, even though we are still clearing up the mess of Labour's debts, 5 million people on benefits in 2010, and the wider financial crisis. Ed has spent the last 4 years attacking every reduction in the welfare bill. There is never an alternative to how we balance the books - just criticism for us as Coalition in trying. On Monday he again proposes to criticise and hold a commons debate; at no place in that debate is he proposing an alternative; governments do not get every decision right - particularly when trying to balance the books as we have had to do but we cannot spend money we do not have any more, and that must mean welfare reform.  

Ed wishes to undermine the radical reform that is Universal Credit; he has proposed one reform himself, by tinkering around the edges of welfare policy. It will not last. Dan Hodges in the Telegraph makes the point very clearly: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danhodges/100276909/theres-no-point-trying-to-fix-ed-miliband-labour-needs-to-work-out-how-it-can-move-on-from-him/

BBC Sunday Politics Show on Iplayer - 36 minutes, 30 seconds in

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03yvtxc/Sunday_Politics_North_East_and_Cumbria_30_03_2014/
Discussion of Living Wage, Welfare Cap, Labour disarray on welfare and SNP stance on the referendum on scottish independence

Work not benefits will pay as welfare reforms start

The first pilot project started yesterday in Ashton under Lyme, Greater Manchester. It will transform welfare and simplify the system. After months of opposition even Liam Byrne, the shadow welfare minister accepted that Ian Duncan Smith's reforms were correct and indicated his party now backed the introduction of the new universal credit syste.
The new system is designed to ensure it always pays for people on benefits to go back to work or accept extra hours. Labour, as usual, voted against the scheme when it was debated by Parliament last year. But yesterday Mr Byrne said the universal credit system was a ‘fine idea’, albeit one with some details still to be ironed out.
Shadow employment minister Stephen Timms also said the scheme was a ‘sensible’ idea which would ‘potentially simplify’ the benefits system.
The fundamental point is that people should be encouraged back in to work not trapped in a situation where they earn more on benefits than they could do if they tried to work.
For more details on the story see here:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2316612/Universal-Credit-shake-make-sure-work-pays-gets-underway-Labour-finally-admits-sensible-idea.html