What to expect with the new yes minister

Esther McVey, the new Work and Pensions Secretary has:

• Consistently voted against raising welfare benefits at least in line with prices
• Consistently voted against paying higher benefits over longer periods for those unable to work due to illness or disability
• Consistently voted for a reduction in spending on welfare benefits
• Almost always voted against spending public money to create guaranteed jobs for young people who have spent a long time unemployed.

She has compared claimants to naughty children in her role as employment minister, defending the sanctions system for people who fail to attend a meeting with an adviser in a 2013 meeting with the Work and Pensions Committee. 

“What does a teacher do in a school? A teacher would tell you off or give you lines or whatever it is, detentions, but at the same times they are wanting your best interests at heart,” she said. They are teaching you, they are educating you but at the same time they will also have the ability to sanction you.”

During a 2013 House of Common debate, Ms McVey claimed it was “right” that people were using food banks. “In the UK it is right that more people are... going to food banks because as times are tough, we are all having to pay back this £1.5 trillion debt personally which spiralled under Labour, we are all trying to live within our means, change the gear and make sure that we pay back all our debt which happened under them.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/esther-mcvey-dwp-benefits-welfare-stance-comments-controversial-a8149811.html