The petition to get Iain Duncan Smith to live on £53/week has amassed more than 122,000 signatures. And counting, quickly. The petition was inspired by IDS remarking, on yesterday’s Today programme, that he could live on such a welfare settlement. The secretary of state could not have said anything else; yet these incidents always create media firestorms. The IDS blaze still burns this morning; but that may not unnerve the government: from its perspective, news bulletins devoted to IDS’ gait are preferable to those devoted to the vulnerable.
After a gruelling, though not unsuccessful, 24 hours warring over welfare cuts, the government is mounting a flanking counter-attack. A scattering of economic stories colour some of this morning’s news reports – the possibility of a new relief toll road on the M4 in South Wales, upgrades to A-roads (£) in the north east, Wessex and East Anglia.
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