Latest editorial
A Universal Credit sign on a door of a job centre plus in east London
PEOPLE could be forced into jobs they cannot do by “grim” Tory proposals to make jobseekers take jobs in any sector or face financial sanctions, campaigners warned today.
Under the government’s “way to work” campaign, launched today, benefit claimants will be given just four weeks — down from three months — to find a job within their preferred industry.
After that, if they fail to make “reasonable efforts” to secure work or turn down any offer, they will have part of their universal credit payments withdrawn.
Labour will find increases in the state pension age are unacceptable, just as cuts to the Winter Fuel Allowance, personal independence payments and universal credit are — it needs to change direction immediately, writes PCS general secretary FRAN HEATHCOTE
In the current climate, it is vital to bust the myths and put forward the case for a humane and decent social security system that supports people, argues FRAN HEATHCOTE
The government’s retreat on PIP still leaves 150,000 new universal credit claimants facing halved benefits from April 2026, creating a discriminatory two-tier welfare system that campaigners must continue fighting, writes DR DYLAN MURPHY
