As the government prepares to release two major reports into the social safety net next month, Labour faces a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reintroduce fairness to the benefits system, but must fight back against right-wing 'scrounger' rhetoric that dominates the debate, according to Guardian columnist Frances Ryan.
The reports – the Timms review on personal independence payments (Pip) and the Milburn review into young people out of work – could shape the future of the welfare state for decades. With almost 1 million young people not in education, employment or training (Neet) and the disability benefits bill rising, Andy Burnham will face immense pressure to use the proposals for a major overhaul.
Right-wing influence and media pressure
The right, though not in power, wields significant influence through its dominance of the media ecosystem. The Times has launched a 'welfare inquiry' into the benefits 'crisis', while the Daily Mail has pitched radically means-testing Pip. The Telegraph recently suggested having a disability is becoming 'cool'.
Nigel Farage has announced plans for a new video studio in Westminster for Reform TV on YouTube, with the party's proposed £50bn benefits cuts likely to become viral content. The CSJ study includes a section comparing 'economically inactive claimants' with workers, claiming someone on minimum wage would have to work six days a week to match the 'security, cash and ease' a disabled person gets from state benefits. It also notes about 1.4 million foreign nationals receive working-age benefits.
Potential reforms and challenges
Whitehall sources suggest potential plans to scrap a key part of universal credit for under-25s and replace it with a multi-billion pound package to get people back into work. For decades, the right has set the boundaries for Britain's safety net, resulting in subsistence-level benefit rates and a crueller culture of testing.
Burnham, who has defined himself as unafraid of large-scale change, is well placed to challenge that orthodoxy. Labour has the power to radically improve the disability benefits system: introduce more evidence-based assessments, reduce mass appeals, stop using public money for private companies, and end unnecessary reassessments for lifelong disabilities. Ministers can also address why more people need disability benefits by investing in mental health support, addressing NHS waiting times, fixing Access to Work, and tackling employer attitudes.
It is 2026, and there is a Labour government in office with two big wads of research coming that can lay the groundwork for remaking the safety net. The millions who rely on it must hold their breath to see whether that chance will be grabbed or thrown away.
