Can Starmer’s jobs push get Britain back to work?

The UK isn’t working. That’s the official view of the government as Keir Starmer launches his latest effort to get Britons back into work. A series of benefit changes intend to tackle the fact that Britain is the only major economy where the employment rate has fallen over the past five years, largely because more people are out of work due to long-term ill health. The ‘Get Britain Working’ white paper was published this morning, prior to a statement by Liz Kendall in the Commons this afternoon.

The statistics speak for themselves. A record 2.8 million people are out of work due to long-term sickness. One in eight young people is a NEET – not in education, employment or training. Most alarmingly of all, the national bill for health and disability benefits is due to hit £100 billion by 2030.