To present itself as a government the financial markets can trust, Labour has put the burden exclusively on the most vulnerable. People with disabilities, the long-term sick, and carers will shoulder the strain. Targeting specific benefits, the government hopes to reduce the number of claimants of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) by tightening eligibility criteria. An estimated 800,000 individuals will lose their entitlement by the end of the decade, with a further 150,000 carers, who receive Carer’s Allowance, having their benefits withdrawn…. The targeting of welfare is no surprise. Recipients of welfare are often castigated as ‘work-shy,’ and ‘scroungers.’ Yet the welfare state’s existence is rarely challenged. Undoubtedly it has been essential for working people, protecting them from the excesses of the free market. But, critically, it has always been valuable for capitalism. Amidst a growing working-class presence, the implementation of state reforms at the turn of the twentieth century was an acknowledgement of the need to cushion the effects of exploitation, or risk rebellion.