{"id":81827,"date":"2025-04-22T07:36:54","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T06:36:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/?p=81827"},"modified":"2025-04-22T07:40:07","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T06:40:07","slug":"labour-politucs-is-now-about-rule-by-indifference-that-seeks-to-impose-cruelty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/2025\/04\/22\/labour-politucs-is-now-about-rule-by-indifference-that-seeks-to-impose-cruelty\/","title":{"rendered":"Labour politics is now about rule by indifference that seeks to impose cruelty"},"content":{"rendered":"

As The Guardian notes<\/a> this morning:<\/p>\n

\n

Ministers are privately ruling out scrapping the two-child benefit cap despite warnings from charities that a failure to do so could result in the highest levels of child poverty since records began.<\/p>\n

Government sources said charities and Labour MPs who were concerned that wider benefit cuts would push more families into poverty should \u201cread the tea leaves\u201d over Labour\u2019s plans.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As they then noted, the reason is:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIf they still think we\u2019re going to scrap the cap then they\u2019re listening to the wrong people. We\u2019re simply not going to find a way to do that. The cap is popular with key voters, who see it as a matter of fairness,\u201d one source said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I think we can safely presume that 'one source' is in Downing Street and close to Keir Starmer's chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney.<\/p>\n

This is politics without empathy.<\/p>\n

It is managerialism without consideration of consequence.<\/p>\n

It is rule by focus groups.<\/p>\n

It is lowest common denominator self-interest.<\/p>\n

It is straightforwardly abusive.<\/p>\n

It is indifferent to suffering.<\/p>\n

It is all about rewarding prejudice.<\/p>\n

It is about compounding hate.<\/p>\n

It rewards the performative cruelty towards which some in society are inclined.<\/p>\n

It shows an absolute absence of care, both now and about the future.<\/p>\n

It indicates an absolute absence of the willingness to lead.<\/p>\n

Those who hold these views are not worthy of public office, because it is children who suffer through no fault of their own as a result of this policy.<\/p>\n

And the people delivering this policy call themselves Labour politicians when in reality they are as remote from what such people should be as is Farage, who is the real force behind this policy, which indicates that Labour is so frightened of him that it is willing to join the far-right by aping its ability to impose cruelty.<\/p>\n

I am sickened by these people. Sickened, appalled, disgusted and revolted.<\/p>\n

I am not sure that there is much more to say.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As The Guardian notes this morning: Ministers are privately ruling out scrapping the two-child benefit cap despite warnings from charities that a failure to do
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