Jeremy Corbyn wanted to repeat last week’s victory on Universal Credit. He landed no serious blows but he made the government look silly in its handling of the reforms. Mrs May brought up Labour’s record, and the ‘tax credit’ merry-go-round devised by Gordon Brown. Voters were fleeced by one arm of government and reimbursed by another. And the pick-pocket prime minister denied responsibility for the theft while claiming credit for the reparations. Mrs May stressed the indispensable virtue of UC: it helps people ‘back into work’ rather than trapping them beneath the man-hole cover of dependence.
Back into work. Corbyn was silent about that. Perhaps he’s aware of a conundrum that underlies his movement. There are votes in the poor but only if they stay poor. The richer people get the more taxes they pay and the likelier they are to question a government’s ability to subsidise the needy rather than the noisy.
The SNP were in fully cry.

Get Britain's best politics newsletters
Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in