'Beyond the occasional burst of bravado in front of TV cameras, I do not recognise in the poor of Britain the image that the 'plan' suggests, that of a feckless underclass, choosing to sponge off the state, laughing at those of us who work hard for a living. Nor do I find any evidence of significant numbers of migrants who come to Britain to exploit our health services and out of work benefits levels.'
At the heart of the Old Testament lies the fact that the prime purpose of government, especially 'small government,' is to ensure a fair deal for those who do not have the clout to grab their slice of the cake.The poor, the widow, the orphan, the foreigner are the ones who provide the testing bed for whether a ruler is exercising their power in accordance with God's will.
The Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, who will be made a Cardinal later this week, also attacked the government over its welfare reforms. In an interview with The Telegraph on Saturday, Britain's most senior Roman Catholic and future Cardinal said that the welfare state was becoming 'more punitive.'
Then on Radio 4, he criticised the tax system, claiming 'inordinate' levels of taxation were responsible for high levels of poverty in families with one working parent.
Apart from wondering if the Bishop of Manchester has been near a hospital or a GP surgery recently, I wonder if both men think that there was once a golden age of welfare in this country? I write as one who was signing on the dole and getting my rent paid from 1983 when I arrived in London homeless and an absolute stranger, until I eventually got a salaried job in 1988.
The system of housing benefit worked fairly efficiently then, once you got a fixed address, and it relied on you to declare your earnings. In 1983 about 2,170,000 were in receipt of this money, now there are 5.5 million. At least seven percent of these are non UK nationals.
Data on nationality is not routinely published as the systems used to process benefit claims typically do not include a nationality marker. But according to the Department of Work and Pensions the top twenty individual nationalities claiming benefit come from most 'world areas'; within Asia and Middle East, Pakistan and India, hold the 1st and 3rd nationalities, with Bangladesh (5th) Iraq (6th) and Iran (8th). Somalia (2nd), Nigeria (11th) and Eritrea (19th). Poland, 7th on the list of claimants, is the only EU accession state to appear in the top twenty.
Before the onset of mass migration, which the bishop of Manchester does not acknowledge, we had a manageable system, which operated fairly well. He says that under George Osborne we are heading back to the Victorian age. I do not think so because during the 19th century most migrants were labourers from Ireland who worked or starved, and Jews, who worked for themselves and never asked the state for a penny.
I doubt there was ever a golden age in which to be poor. When I was a child a friend of my mother was a widow with four children. She had great difficulty in getting basic 'National Assistance,' as it was then. In 1983, I remember there were large gaps between being signed on and money coming through, and cheques would go missing. When one of mine didn't appear I appealed to the DHSS for a replacement sum and had to go before a tribunal. I faced three disapproving men and I made the mistake of smiling at the woman member, who didn't smile back. Ten days later, they sent me a 'hardship payment,' for £2.50. I still have the letter among my most precious papers. Tweet
