Mirror columnist Paul Routledge says Iain Duncan Smith has come clean as pensioners are set to come under attack from the cuts
Targeted: OAPs face losing winter fuel allowance among other benefits
So, he finally tore off the mask and revealed the evil face of the nasty party.
For four years, the Tories have been conning the public with assurances that the NHS and the welfare state were safe in their hands.
It was always a lie, of course, but they had to stick to the script to maintain the illusion of “caring Conservatism” – a contradiction in terms if ever I heard one.
But now Iain Duncan Smith has come clean, with the boast that nothing is safe from the cuts. Not the health service, nor pensions, nor benefits for the poor, the jobless and the disabled, nor tax credits and housing benefit.
Everything is up for the axe in the IDS bonfire of the ringfences in public spending. He’s gone much further than David Cameron, who in the past ruled out such draconian measures. His strategic policy foray risks opening up a split at the top in the Coalition.
But even if the details are fuzzy, the direction of travel is plain. Prime targets for the chop are the winter fuel allowance for pensioners, free TV licences for the over-75s and old folks’ bus passes. The savings will be relatively small but the suffering immense.
And it just had to be IDS who did the biz – a well-off Cabinet minister who lives in a big house on £140,000 a year and all expenses paid. He’s all in favour of hair shirts, as long as the other fellow is wearing it.
At least we now see them in plain sight. No more pussy-footing around. No more pretence. This is what the Tories really want. We can’t say we haven’t been warned.
For four years, the Tories have been conning the public with assurances that the NHS and the welfare state were safe in their hands.
It was always a lie, of course, but they had to stick to the script to maintain the illusion of “caring Conservatism” – a contradiction in terms if ever I heard one.
But now Iain Duncan Smith has come clean, with the boast that nothing is safe from the cuts. Not the health service, nor pensions, nor benefits for the poor, the jobless and the disabled, nor tax credits and housing benefit.
Everything is up for the axe in the IDS bonfire of the ringfences in public spending. He’s gone much further than David Cameron, who in the past ruled out such draconian measures. His strategic policy foray risks opening up a split at the top in the Coalition.
But even if the details are fuzzy, the direction of travel is plain. Prime targets for the chop are the winter fuel allowance for pensioners, free TV licences for the over-75s and old folks’ bus passes. The savings will be relatively small but the suffering immense.
And it just had to be IDS who did the biz – a well-off Cabinet minister who lives in a big house on £140,000 a year and all expenses paid. He’s all in favour of hair shirts, as long as the other fellow is wearing it.
At least we now see them in plain sight. No more pussy-footing around. No more pretence. This is what the Tories really want. We can’t say we haven’t been warned.
Mirror
