Does Labour have the stomach to tackle welfare reform?

Regardless of who wins the coming election, taxes are going up. Spending plans from both Labour and the Tories suggest the tax burden – already at a post-war high – is going to do nothing but rise. During last night’s Sky News debate, Rishi Sunak laid the blame at the two ‘once in a century’ events the country has just emerged from. But the truth is that a huge part of these tax rises is needed to fund an ever-growing welfare bill. Analysis published this morning shows that one in every £44 of state spending will be spent on sickness benefits by the end of the decade.

The report, published by the Resolution Foundation, shows that incapacity benefits spending will rise faster than pensions over the next parliament. The problem is the simply staggering level of those out of work due to long-term sickness. Other figures released this week by the Office for National Statistics show those deemed too sick to work again hit a record high of over 2.8