Recent Reform Articles

Electoral reform: why failure will not breed success

There seem to be a bunch of lefties who are opposed to the Alternative Vote on the basis that it does not go far enough.

Fair enough – I agree it doesn’t go far enough. But the idea that losing the referendum on AV will somehow boost chances of alternatives such as AV+, STV is mind-boggling naive.

Let me explain why.
continue reading… »

Sensible, not soft: the right approach to sentencing

Contribution by Gemma Lousley

The first definitive guideline from the Sentencing Council, published on Wednesday and covering assault offences, is well-thought-out, clearly set out, and overall very sensible. However, it’s pretty quickly gained a reputation amongst the rightwing press as being ‘soft on crime’, and allowing violent offenders to get fines or community sentences instead of prison.

The guideline doesn’t propose that sentencers shouldn’t send serious violent offenders to prison: substantial custodial sentences are set out as the appropriate response for offences such as causing grievous bodily harm with intent. What it does propose is a proportionate approach, so that sentences accurately reflect the harm caused to victims, and culpability. As such, it says that for less serious offences where very minor or no injuries are caused, community sentences should be used.
continue reading… »

Why time-limiting disability benefits will hurt working families like mine

Today, I’m launching my new campaign.

During the CSR, George Osborne announced that he would be time-limiting ESA (Employment Support Allowance, previously Incapacity Benefit) to one year. This means, that anyone with a working partner found capable of doing any kind of work at all will only receive state support for one year.

Once that year is up they will receive no help at all, a loss of £4661. This is three times as much as higher rate taxpayers will lose in child benefit. 
continue reading… »

Why the welfare cuts will cost more than they save

contribution by Richard Shrubb

I have a friend with a son in receipt of nearly £500,000 a year for his 24-hour a day care. Andy has Kanner’s Autism. He also has very low intelligence and gets angry because he can’t communicate effectively, needing 2-3 people to restrain him.

The family are facing a 35% cut in their Personal Budget, which will almost certainly mean he goes into state care. Yet, the equivalent Local Authority provision cost well in excess of £1.5 million a year when he received care directly from the state. You need staff to administer his daily life as well as those restraining him.
continue reading… »

Should we be telling teenagers how to drink?

contribution by Claire Turner

For many, underage drinking conjures up images of young people drinking lots of cheap, strong alcohol in a public place getting out of control. But does this stereotype match the reality of teenage drinking cultures?

A recent report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation takes a closer look at alcohol use in groups of teenage friends.
continue reading… »

Why aren’t the TPA complaining about the Royal drain on taxpayers?

contribution by Tim Fenton

We the people still enjoy a good Royal wedding – or at least the broadcast and print media reckon so, because from the announcement yesterday that Prince William of Wales is to marry the future Princess Catherine of Berkshire next year, it’s been wall to wall coverage throughout.

The Government have led the way in lapping up the news: Young Dave was outside 10 Downing Street sharpish to pitch a few soundbites, telling how the Cabinet had been banging the table in approval.

But hang on a minute: Royal weddings cost serious money.
continue reading… »

Why I support IDS’ universal credit system

contribution by Richard Shrubb

Tory Minister for Work and Pensions Ian Duncan Smith announced his plans for a Universal Credit “which will restore fairness and simplicity to a complex, outdated and wildly expensive benefits system.”

As a recipient of disability benefits I am in full agreement with him – the system I went through was unfair and prevented you from going back to work. I was on the taxable equivalent of £18000 annually when in recovery from my disability, and even with a MA in the field could not hope to get an equal income from work.

Up to the point of wanting to take the next steps from recovery to rehabilitation, this was great. But being penalised for wanting work? I don’t love my country enough to get stuffed for going to work!
continue reading… »

Fact: Labour did not ‘write people off’ to a lifetime on benefits

On Monday, The Sun ran a story about “Benefit Ghettoes”, about areas where a lot of people live on Jobseeker’s Allowance, Incapacity Benefit and “other benefits, including one parent, disabled and carer handouts.” Running alongside was an opinion piece from employment minister Chris Grayling, who concentrated on two million people “on the sick”:

Some of those people will be genuinely too sick to work. But equally many will have been put there by a government who thought it was easier just to write people off to a lifetime on benefits then, when the economy picked up, fill the jobs with workers from abroad who were only too keen to pick up the slack.

Yesterday’s figures for out of work benefits give us a chance to check how accurate that picture is. They only go back to 1999, but they do give us a handy picture of what has been happening during the recession and before.
continue reading… »

The very un-conservative George Osborne

Yesterday George Osborne announced some big changes.

A cap system that will reduce income, housing and council tax benefit is going to affect a lot of people’s lives. You can read various good analyses here, here, here, here and here. Personally, I’m still reeling from the extent of Osborne’s assault on those receiving state support, disgusted at his fig-leaf excuses about preventing people seeing benefits as a “lifestyle choice”.

But one thing strikes me about these reforms: how cavalier and unconservative the Conservative Party is now being.

continue reading… »

Could a Flat Tax could make Britain a more progressive place?

Everyone knows that Flat Taxes are nasty regressive things associated with the Adam Smith Institute, the reactionary-capitalist-pig-dog-enemy-of-the-people Tim Worstall and  the ex-communist world.

What most people don’t know is that a flat income tax is much more progressive than the income tax which we currently charge people, as I’ll show below.

continue reading… »