New figures show just what a basket case Labour has turned Britain into, argues Giles Sheldrick.
Former PM Keir Starmer (Image: Getty)
Keir Starmer promised a new dawn for the country when he popped up in 2024 with a vow to “get Brits working”.
He didn’t mean it – of course he didn’t. Not when the idle and inactive are Labour’s disciples.
And now we have proof of just how far the rot has set in under the destructive environment fostered by him and his hapless Chancellor Rachel Reeves after their ruinous two-year run.
The number of Universal Credit claimants now stands at 8.4million at a time when the number of working households is also falling.
The figure – a damning indictment of life in Britain where record numbers see the state as a limitless cash machine – is up 700,000 from the same time last year.
It means those in receipt of the taxpayer-funded handout are the highest since it was introduced in 2013.
This is the reality of life under listless Labour.
Universal Credit – a single monthly financial payment – is meant to help people of working age pay for living and housing costs.
The benefit is paid if you are out of work, unable to work, or on a low income, and replaced handouts including Housing Benefit, Child Tax Credit, and Jobseeker’s Allowance.
But disturbing figures from the Department for Work and Pensions suggest the system is being played as things head south.
Rachel Reeves is gone but not forgotten (Image: Getty)
Those in the “no work requirements” category increased to more than half meaning they are not expected to look for a job.
Britain’s unemployment rate now stands at 4.9% as job vacancies have plunged to their lowest level in more than five years.
Labour is letting the welfare bill spiral out of control while fewer people are in work and millions more are being signposted to benefits.
The number on Universal Credit with no work requirements has surged by 1m in a year.
But it’s all bread and butter for Labour because these are the people on whom it relies to fuel this madness.
Britain’s benefits system, which already accounts for almost 25% of all government spending, is set to top more than £407bn by 2030.
With job vacancies at their lowest in more than five years and unemployment surging skywards, it is unequivocal that Labour are the party of welfare, not work.
And the bad news keeps coming as Labour’s wrecking ball continues to batter Britain.
The rate of inflation hit 2.9% in July – meaning prices rose at the fastest pace in four months – in another damning indictment of Labour’s economic mismanagement and one which has left hard-working families paying the price, not only for energy and food, but to fund the feckless too.
Energy bills are now expected to hit their highest level since July 2023 with market analyst Cornwall Insight predicting the price cap will rise 4% from October.
It means average bills will increase from £1,663 to £1,729.
Dr Craig Lowrey, principal consultant at Cornwall Insight, said: “Rising energy bills aren’t welcome at the best of times, but with winter approaching, this latest hike will hit struggling households especially hard.”
The figures don’t lie: 53% of the population are net takers from the state with just 47% net contributors. It’s little wonder we’re broke.
Britain has become a basket case thanks in no small part to Starmer and Reeves, but under Burnham the benefits bonanza looks set to continue apace.