Labour Urged To Adopt Radical Welfare Reform Rather Than Support Tory Cuts

Labour is being urged to embrace radical welfare reform in an attempt to stop George Osborne laying another “political trap” for the party by challenging it to support his £12bn of benefit cuts. John Healey, a candidate in the election for Labour’s deputy leader, has proposed that the party reduces the welfare budget by switching part of the £24bn-a-year housing benefit bill to housebuilding. Mr Healey revealed that he drew up a 60-page report for Ed Miliband on a “benefits to bricks” policy last year. It argued that the Government’s decision to raise council and housing association rents to 80 per cent of market rates would increase the housing benefit bill by £5.4bn over 30 years on the homes built in the last parliament alone. Read more on the Independent website.