Call it incompetence, if you like – it may turn out to be criminality – but Peter Hain’s clearly underperformed as a Cabinet minister. After his resignation today, blogs, newspapers and politicians are quite rightly sticking their collective boots in. Just to strike a different tone, I thought I’d give Hain a bit of credit where it’s due – if only for a mid-office conversion on the topic of welfare reform.
By now, the facts are well-stated: Wisconsin-inspired welfare reform– which places extra stress on claimants finding work and uses private companies to help them do so – gets more people off benefits and lowers the burden on the taxpayer. Yet when Hain became Secretary of State for Work and Pensions it looked as though he’d turn his back on these truths. In an early interview with the FT he claimed that involving
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
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