The Liberal Democrats insisted that they wouldn’t accept any more welfare cuts. But George Osborne still found a way to put welfare at the centre of his statement today as he sought to put, what he calls, the ‘welfare party’ on the back foot. It was a reminder that he remains a thoroughly political Chancellor.
There were a series of tough conditionality measures. The most headline-grabbing of these was that the around 100,000 people who claim JSA but aren’t proficient in English will have to learn the language or lose their benefits. The state, though, will pay for their language lessons.
Then, there is the Chancellor’s welfare cap – the measure that most excites Osborne’s team.
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