Helen Whately: Not Being Starmer Is Not Enough; Burnham Must Reform Welfare

Helen Whately, Shadow Secretary for Work and Pensions, argues that new Prime Minister Andy Burnham cannot rely on simply not being Keir Starmer to solve Britain's problems. She criticizes Labour's record on welfare, noting 6.5 million people on out-of-work benefits and a doubling of sickness claims since the pandemic. Whately calls for root-and-branch reform of the sickness benefits system, including face-to-face assessments and ending benefits for anxiety, low moods, and ADHD. She also advocates for tightening benefit caps, reinstating the two-child cap, and stopping benefits for foreign citizens. Whately warns that without reform, taxpayers will pay £5,000 a year for working-age welfare by the end of the Parliament. She contrasts Labour's approach of higher taxes and spending with Conservative plans to back businesses and create jobs, especially for the one million young people not in education, employment, or training.