Latest editorial
Civil servants demanded Iain Duncan Smith quit yesterday as he limply defended his multimillion-pound write-offs and delays for his controversial universal credit welfare changes.
The Work and Pensions Secretary admitted last week that the 2017 target for the full introduction of the single benefit was a no-hoper - with 700,000 claimants facing a longer wait.
He told the Commons work and pensions select committee yesterday that he was delivering the new system "within the timescale and budget" despite admitting that £40 million had already been written off.
As a proportion of GDP the total welfare bill is lower than it was 15 years ago. The claim that it is spiralling out of control is mythmaking, argues DIANE ABBOTT
MPs back measure for 66-year-olds but it won't end suffering, groups say
Labour will find increases in the state pension age are unacceptable, just as cuts to the Winter Fuel Allowance, personal independence payments and universal credit are — it needs to change direction immediately, writes PCS general secretary FRAN HEATHCOTE
In the current climate, it is vital to bust the myths and put forward the case for a humane and decent social security system that supports people, argues FRAN HEATHCOTE