Reeves' Reverse Robin Hood - Rob From The Poor, Give To The Rich...

The recent cuts announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves to Universal Credit are a devastating blow to the most vulnerable in society, and can only be described as economic stupidity. The UK has been under austerity since 2010, and these latest cuts - whatever name they choose to give - only continue the same thing.

Since the Conservatives' austerity measures began over a decade ago, benefits have been steadily reduced, squeezing the most disadvantaged in society, and now Reeves has taken a step further - cutting welfare support for the sick and disabled, making life even harder for millions.

To call these cuts cruel is an understatement, and deliberate targeting of the most vulnerable is certainly nothing one would ever expect from a 'Labour' government. The working class in the UK, already reeling from years of stagnant wages and soaring living costs, now faces yet more punishment.

If it’s hard enough to make ends meet for those who are sick, disabled, or struggling to find work, the government’s cutting a vital £500 - £3000 from Universal Credit and making access to Personal Independence Payments even more difficult, are just the final blow. The Chancellor’s justification for these cuts is that it will save £4.8 billion, but this is a hollow argument that fails to account for the devastating social impact of such a decision.

Unsurprisingly, given the Starmer frontbench's constant use of the term 'working people', the sick, disabled, pensioners and others unable to work have concluded that they simply do not matter - and the government has done nothing to change that impression. Many sick and disabled people are even scared they may be 'encouraged' into opting for Kim Leadbeater's 'Assisted Dying' programme...

These latest cuts also treat benefits as simply a cost and ignore the fact that benefits are also purchasing power, which keeps people in jobs, and therefore short-term cuts, as we all know, make no long-term gain.

The government has also disingenuously included State Pension payments in the 'massive' 'burdensome' welfare budget - at £111 billion, SP accounts for $2% of the welfare spend, and it isn't a 'benefit'. It's what Starmer's beloved 'working people' paid for via National Insurance all their working lives, to support them after retirement.

At 10.8% of GDP in 2024, the UK welfare budget is not only lower than it was in 2023 (10.9%), it is also among the lowest in Europe, well behind France, Finland, Italy, Belgium and Austria at 27-30%, and less than most European countries.

Also, the UK's much-mentioned 'massive' spending on health-related benefits, including disability and incapacity benefits, was just 1.7% of GDP in 2023-24.

But this is not just an economic issue, it’s a moral failure. Let’s talk about the consequences. It’s one thing to reduce the overall welfare budget over the years, but it’s another to ignore the fact that many people who rely on these benefits are already at breaking point.

This reduction doesn’t just strip away between £500 - £3000 annually from an already inadequate safety net, it jeopardises the ability of the most vulnerable to survive. Disabled people, those with chronic illnesses, will find their lives even harder. For those already struggling to make ends meet, every penny counts. And now, they’ll be forced to get by on even less.

The Tory government’s approach to welfare since 2010 was nothing short of disastrous. Now Starmer's 'Labour' are continuing with it. With cuts to vital welfare support, the government is taking a wrecking ball to the social fabric of this country.

Benefits have been cut, inflation has pushed prices beyond reach, and wages remain stagnant. The reduction of Universal Credit, especially when inflation and the cost of living continue to rise, will force millions into an even worse position, worsening their physical and mental health, and pushing them further into poverty. 

We are being told that these 'tough decisions' are a necessary measure for fiscal responsibility, but that is nothing more than an excuse for abdicating moral responsibility. It’s a smokescreen hiding the reality that these cuts are part of a broader ideology, an austerity-driven neoliberal agenda that punishes those at the bottom to line the pockets of those at the top.

The Labour government’s actions are nothing short of classist elitism draped in the rhetoric of the working class. The ruling elite, comfortably perched on their thrones, have no understanding of what it’s like to struggle to survive. The last 15 years have been like being knocked down by the posh bully in the playground, and when you’re already on the ground, his mate jumps on top and starts hitting you while telling you, "Don’t worry, it won’t hurt that much. I’m working class. My dad was a toolmaker!"

It’s an absolute insult to the very people who keep this country running. The reality is that cutting welfare is a false economy. These cuts do not save the taxpayer money in the long run. Instead, they will increase the strain on emergency services, local charities, and the NHS, as people pushed to the brink of survival are forced to rely on these systems.

The short-term savings are just that, short-term. Meanwhile, the long-term consequences are a fractured society, increased inequality, and greater economic instability. These cuts, like so many before them, are a stark reminder that the government does not care for the people who need it most.

They are trying to balance the books on the backs of the poor,  the vulnerable, the sick and disabled. That is not just morally wrong, it’s economically foolish. For the sake of the economy and the country’s future, the cuts - which may even be illegal under international law - must be reversed. The government must finally wake up to the fact that you cannot build a strong economy by systematically undermining the most vulnerable members of society.

More people are waking up to the realisation that the Tories appear to still be in power under a different name - cardboard cutout socialists who have capitulated to the dictates of capital and thrown the very people they purport to represent under the bus.

It looks increasingly likely that the result of the Starmer/Reeves moral vacuum will be punishment - first in the opinion polls and next at the ballot box - consigning Starmer's 'Labour' government to the dustbin of history.