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Iain Duncan Smith's forward roll of benefits Iain Duncan Smith's forward roll of benefits
(7 months later)
The new archbishop of Canterbury had barely got his knees on to the hassock this weekend before he was inveighing against Iain Duncan Smith. In a twist on an old phrase, he was asking "who will rid me of this turbulent welfare secretary?" There was, however, a shortage of armed knights ready to ride from Canterbury to Westminster to sort the matter out.The new archbishop of Canterbury had barely got his knees on to the hassock this weekend before he was inveighing against Iain Duncan Smith. In a twist on an old phrase, he was asking "who will rid me of this turbulent welfare secretary?" There was, however, a shortage of armed knights ready to ride from Canterbury to Westminster to sort the matter out.
Justin Welby – and he speaks from long experience of poverty in the international oil industry – says that the 1% cap on benefit payments will hit the children of poor families the hardest. It is, and here I may attempt a little textual extrapolation from the scriptures about camels and needles, easier for a rich man to save £2,000 a week in income tax under the new dispensation and so afford a lapis lazuli-lined bathroom in central Kensington, than it is for a poor man to have a spare room in which to keep his gubbins.Justin Welby – and he speaks from long experience of poverty in the international oil industry – says that the 1% cap on benefit payments will hit the children of poor families the hardest. It is, and here I may attempt a little textual extrapolation from the scriptures about camels and needles, easier for a rich man to save £2,000 a week in income tax under the new dispensation and so afford a lapis lazuli-lined bathroom in central Kensington, than it is for a poor man to have a spare room in which to keep his gubbins.
Mr Duncan Smith, like all his predecessors, is finding his job a tar baby in that every single time he tries to lay a hand on the system in the hopes of reforming it, he gets more stuck. So at work and pensions questions on Monday he was careful not to attack the archbishop. He was asked by Edward Leigh, a rightwing Tory, whether it was "necessarily Christian to turn people to dependency". Mr Leigh clearly doesn't believe that stuff about giving all you have to the poor and getting treasure in heaven; he'd want to know what the cumulative interest rate in the Elysian fields is, and whether it arrives as a lump sum or an annuity.Mr Duncan Smith, like all his predecessors, is finding his job a tar baby in that every single time he tries to lay a hand on the system in the hopes of reforming it, he gets more stuck. So at work and pensions questions on Monday he was careful not to attack the archbishop. He was asked by Edward Leigh, a rightwing Tory, whether it was "necessarily Christian to turn people to dependency". Mr Leigh clearly doesn't believe that stuff about giving all you have to the poor and getting treasure in heaven; he'd want to know what the cumulative interest rate in the Elysian fields is, and whether it arrives as a lump sum or an annuity.
Mr Duncan Smith said discreetly that he had "no issue whatsoever" with the Church of England or the bishops – it was right for them to put pressure on the government. But all more benefits did was lock people out of work. Philip Davies of Shipley, who is even more rightwing, said that IDS should ignore the "leftwing bishops", who didn't even speak for most of their congregations. IDS replied that everyone was welcome to give him advice and he was welcome to ignore it.Mr Duncan Smith said discreetly that he had "no issue whatsoever" with the Church of England or the bishops – it was right for them to put pressure on the government. But all more benefits did was lock people out of work. Philip Davies of Shipley, who is even more rightwing, said that IDS should ignore the "leftwing bishops", who didn't even speak for most of their congregations. IDS replied that everyone was welcome to give him advice and he was welcome to ignore it.
All this gentility was in contrast to his rage against Labour over the bedroom tax, which now has three names. That's its Labour propaganda name. There is also its official name, "the under-occupancy penalty" and there is the government soubriquet, the "spare room subsidy". They all mean the same – if you live in social housing, and have an extra room, you lose benefit. The idea is that overcrowded families will get larger properties, which sounds sensible, but has created scores of anomalies.All this gentility was in contrast to his rage against Labour over the bedroom tax, which now has three names. That's its Labour propaganda name. There is also its official name, "the under-occupancy penalty" and there is the government soubriquet, the "spare room subsidy". They all mean the same – if you live in social housing, and have an extra room, you lose benefit. The idea is that overcrowded families will get larger properties, which sounds sensible, but has created scores of anomalies.
IDS, once the quiet man, is furious about Labour attacks. He accused them of "bleating" and "moaning".IDS, once the quiet man, is furious about Labour attacks. He accused them of "bleating" and "moaning".
He kept telling them to "get their facts right!" adding, "the monkeys can jump up and down but the noise they make is not necessarily relevant!" Tar monkeys! Every day Labour finds a new horror. On Monday it was potential foster parents who would have no room to install their children. IDS replied, "as we roll forward", foster parents would be able to keep their rooms. That's the answer! Everyone lies on the floor and rolls forward! Room for everybody, and a happy archbishop too.He kept telling them to "get their facts right!" adding, "the monkeys can jump up and down but the noise they make is not necessarily relevant!" Tar monkeys! Every day Labour finds a new horror. On Monday it was potential foster parents who would have no room to install their children. IDS replied, "as we roll forward", foster parents would be able to keep their rooms. That's the answer! Everyone lies on the floor and rolls forward! Room for everybody, and a happy archbishop too.
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