Rachel Reeves MP, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, responding to Iain Duncan Smith’s speech, said:

“It’s clear that David Cameron and Iain Duncan Smith have nothing to say about the cost-of-living crisis which has meant working people have seen their pay fall by £1,600 a year since 2010. Their programme is in complete disarray. Ministers promised there would be a million people on Universal Credit by April, yet the latest figures show fewer than 4,000 people are. Long-term youth unemployment has doubled under David Cameron. Over £1 billion has been spent on the Work Programme, yet people who go through the scheme are more likely to return to the Job Centre than get a sustained job. And the government has been forced to spend £13 billion more than they originally planned on welfare since 2010 because they have failed to tackle low pay, housing and unemployment.

“A Labour government will tackle the root causes of rising social security spending; low pay, long-term unemployment and the inadequate supply of housing. We will introduce a Compulsory Jobs Guarantee and a Basic Skills Test to get young people and the long-term unemployed off benefits and into work, get more homes built and scrap the unfair Bedroom Tax which risks costing more than it saves.”

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