Warning: cheap shot ahead
Peter Hain wields the big stick:
We have identified areas that require immediate action. Living together fraud is now the single largest element of fraud in income support and we aim to make significant savings by stopping these cheats.
Yes, benefit cheats. Scum of the Earth bringing the country to it’s knees and far, far more morally reprehensible than, say, the non-domiciled super rich.
The thing is, what if some of these undeclared co-habitees have made an honest mistake? What if they’ve simply forgotten to declare their change of status? What if they’re guilty of nothing more than an incompetence? Surely they don’t deserve to be punished?
Posted on January 23rd, 2008 at 4:14 am
Peter Hain’s benefit fraud poster was ripe for a bit of photoshopping.
Well, the message is pretty clear; first, there obviously is not enough desperation in the lower depths, so let`s fixate on undeclared cohabiting couples as the social curse du jour. With any luck we`ll catch a few, break up their relationships and add to the total sum of misery at the bottom of society. Second, we need to make it clear to those still in employment how utterly godawful it is to be unemployed - always helps to suppress any hasty notions about strikes or other collective action. After all, collective action is restricted to the management strata of our great nation. Over and out.