Those within Labour who want to vote against the welfare bill because of changes to tax credits seem desperate for something to oppose.
Anyone who believes supporting the reforms is a crucial step to rebuilding Labour credibility on welfare - and also the right thing to do - is branded a Tory.
But we are focusing our energies in the wrong place. The Government has been in power for less than three months and has already broken a string of promises with countless cock-ups.
Instead of opposing popular welfare reforms, let’s instead focus our fire on Government action and policy that is genuinely shambolic, hypocritical and wrong. That is what is credible opposition should be.
If we were not so wrapped up in a needlessly lengthy leadership battle then we could be attacking. As parliament moves into recess, let's not let them get away with it.
Here are just five flagship policy areas where the Tories have broken their pre-election promises and displayed monumental ineptitude in the last three months.
1. Borrowing more
The biggest macro-economic decision made at the Budget was to cut spending at a slower rate than previously promised. George Osborne said the deficit would be gone by 2019, not 2018. A timescale almost identical to the one proposed by Ed Balls and Ed Miliband just like the 2010-15 deficit reduction timescale was remarkably similar to Alistair Darling’s plan. It involves billions more borrowing than he told the British people he would in May. Labour has barely mentioned this huge shift that breaks a clear pre-election promise and the March Budget.
2. Taxing more
In July 2013, George Osborne promised there would be no tax rises to cut the deficit. His July Budget raised taxes by £47bn across the parliament on landlords, non-doms, insurers, banks, car owners and more. Tax and spend Tories, who are also hypocrites. Where’s the opposition?
3. Social care U-turn
The Conservative party manifesto promised to introduce its changes to social care funding for the elderly. The £72,000 “cap” on care costs (that does not include accommodation costs and is riddled with many other holes but was at least something) was meant to come into force next April. It was intended to create the conditions for an insurance market in adult social care. Insurers were sceptical but the Act passed in 2013 and the promise was made. Last week, the Government delayed the cap introduction until April 2020. And the chances of any Government introducing such a complex, controversial system one month before the general election is close to zero. This was flagship coalition policy from a major commission led Andrew Dilnot that was debated through months of parliamentary debate. It’s also Liz Kendall’s shadow ministerial brief and Andy Burnham’s department. Where are they?
4. Northern Powerhouse cock-up
The electrification of the Leeds to Manchester railway has been shelved despite forming a key plank of the Conservative pitch to the north before the election. The Government has predictably blamed Network Rail and its chairman has quit. It is the latest shambles from the Department of Transport after last parliament’s ludicrous handling of West Coast Mainline tender process. It cost taxpayers £38m. We’ve heard a few murmurings about a northern powercut from Labour MPs but this is major cock-up and we should be co-ordinating our responses better.
5. Pension freedom problems
A central feature of the Conservative pitch to pensioners was George Osborne’s radical reforms to end compulsory annuitisation for everyone from April. The move was announced as a bombshell in the April 2014 budget and pension providers had a rushed timetable to get ready with new rules being brought in as late as a few weeks before the April 2015 deadline. Now it turns out providers were not ready to offer freedoms from April and the Government has acted angrily. This is a clear case of the Treasury ramping up expectations to a ridiculous degree to the dismay of thousands of pensioners. There has not been a peep of opposition from the Labour party.
