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The government can’t “shrug its shoulders” and pretend the welfare system is “progressive”, Sir Keir Starmer has said, as he again defended his benefit cuts.
The prime minister told Sky News political correspondent Serena Barker-Singh he understands why some of his backbenchers are uncomfortable, citing the cases of his late mother and brother.
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“I’ve lived all my life with the impact of disability through my mum, who was very ill all her life,” he said.
“And more recently, my brother, who recently died of cancer, so I do understand the concerns.”
However, he said it is “morally indefensible that a million young people are going essentially from education on to benefits”.
“All the evidence shows if young people are in that position and so early in their lives, they’re going to find it really difficult ever to get out of that,” the prime minister said.
“There aren’t many people who genuinely argue the status quo is working,” Sir Keir added.
‘We can’t just shrug our shoulders’
Sir Keir said there were two million people on benefits because of sickness – a figure he said would double by 2030 without action from the government.
“We can’t just shrug our shoulders and pretend that it’s progressive to watch millions more people go on to disability benefits when they could and many of them want to be in work,” he added.
“That’s why it’s so vital that we carry out these reforms.”
The £5bn package of savings announced on Tuesday includes making it harder for people to claim a key disability benefit called personal independence payment (PIP).
The government is also delaying…
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