Austerity UK: The ongoing cruelty of welfare reform

Those of us used to writing on social policy matters are always cautioned against dating our work too quickly. This warning feels especially relevant when revisiting my two previous Transforming Society posts. In the first one, I welcomed the new ‘grown-up’ government and in the second, signalled cautious optimism for the first budget. However, writing today, defending the government’s actions is becoming increasingly untenable. To all intents and purposes, they are a continuation of the welfare cruelty I really hoped we’d see the back of. It is perhaps true that we project onto those with power our own hopes for what can and should change, even when they have stubbornly refused to suggest this is in their plans.