Labour's new welfare changes are a breath of fresh air - so why isn't anyone saying it out loud?
The government's efforts to tackle poverty and inequality have been woefully underappreciated, with many assuming that Labour policy is just about taking money from pensioners or cutting benefits for the disabled. But the reality is far more nuanced.
Take universal credit, for instance. The removal of the two-child limit has been hailed as a major breakthrough in reducing child poverty. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation reports that this change could be behind one of the greatest ever falls in child poverty, with over 450,000 children lifted out of poverty and another 100,000 benefiting from free school meals.
But what's being said about this policy? Labour MPs are cagey about touting its success, despite Stephen Timms' words that "reducing child poverty is what Labour governments do". The minister for social security and disability knows more than most about the progress they've made, having championed the Child Poverty Act in 2010.
Meanwhile, the government's handling of personal independence payments (Pip) has been a disaster. Timms' review promises to address the concerns raised by Frank Field, who fought against the five-week delay that left claimants with nothing to live on and sent them into debt repayment.
It's not just Pip, though. The whole system of working-age benefits has remained unchanged for 40 years, with the proportion of GDP spent on these benefits remaining at a consistent 4-5%. This is good news, according to Timms, who says that "panic about the 'rising' benefit bill" is bogus.
But what about the youth guarantee? Labour's pilots have shown promise in helping young people find work and education. Now they're expanding this program with trained work coaches to support the next generation.
The problem is that Labour isn't shouting from the rooftops about all these successes. Instead, they're quietly making progress on welfare reform. It's only when the Tories return to power, as they did last time, that Labour's advances are eroded.
So why can't we hear more about this? One reason is that Labour needs to shift public perceptions about benefits and social security. We need a guiding story about how these policies work for everyone - not just the vulnerable. It's only then that Labour can nail down progress irrevocably.
The tide of public opinion has shifted, with many people now seeing the value in well-designed benefit systems. This government needs to keep this momentum going by loudly championing its own successes. Anything less risks eroding all the hard-won gains.
The government's efforts to tackle poverty and inequality have been woefully underappreciated, with many assuming that Labour policy is just about taking money from pensioners or cutting benefits for the disabled. But the reality is far more nuanced.
Take universal credit, for instance. The removal of the two-child limit has been hailed as a major breakthrough in reducing child poverty. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation reports that this change could be behind one of the greatest ever falls in child poverty, with over 450,000 children lifted out of poverty and another 100,000 benefiting from free school meals.
But what's being said about this policy? Labour MPs are cagey about touting its success, despite Stephen Timms' words that "reducing child poverty is what Labour governments do". The minister for social security and disability knows more than most about the progress they've made, having championed the Child Poverty Act in 2010.
Meanwhile, the government's handling of personal independence payments (Pip) has been a disaster. Timms' review promises to address the concerns raised by Frank Field, who fought against the five-week delay that left claimants with nothing to live on and sent them into debt repayment.
It's not just Pip, though. The whole system of working-age benefits has remained unchanged for 40 years, with the proportion of GDP spent on these benefits remaining at a consistent 4-5%. This is good news, according to Timms, who says that "panic about the 'rising' benefit bill" is bogus.
But what about the youth guarantee? Labour's pilots have shown promise in helping young people find work and education. Now they're expanding this program with trained work coaches to support the next generation.
The problem is that Labour isn't shouting from the rooftops about all these successes. Instead, they're quietly making progress on welfare reform. It's only when the Tories return to power, as they did last time, that Labour's advances are eroded.
So why can't we hear more about this? One reason is that Labour needs to shift public perceptions about benefits and social security. We need a guiding story about how these policies work for everyone - not just the vulnerable. It's only then that Labour can nail down progress irrevocably.
The tide of public opinion has shifted, with many people now seeing the value in well-designed benefit systems. This government needs to keep this momentum going by loudly championing its own successes. Anything less risks eroding all the hard-won gains.
I'm so with you on this! The way Labour is just quietly making progress on welfare reform without giving themselves enough credit for it is like, totally unfair 
. They're doing some amazing work here, like removing the two-child limit from universal credit and expanding the youth guarantee program. It's all about giving people a chance to get back on their feet and build a better life. I mean, come on, Stephen Timms knows more than most about this stuff, so why aren't they just shouting it out loud? 
The whole system of working-age benefits has been stuck in the same old ways for 40 years, but Labour is trying to change that and make it better for everyone. We need to start recognizing their efforts and not just waiting for them to lose power before we celebrate. They're making a real difference, people! 
I get that people think they're just taking from pensioners or disabled folks, but it's not that simple. The removal of the two-child limit has actually helped reduce child poverty and free school meals are being given out to more kids! It's like, what's going on? 
We need Labour to start shouting about how good these changes are instead of just quietly doing them 
The youth guarantee program sounds awesome too, but we need more info about how it's working and what success stories there are 
[Distracted boyfriend meme]
[Stock market chart with a rising line]
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[Blank sticky note with a sad face, but then it's filled with notes saying "We should be celebrating these wins!"]
. They're making some really positive changes that are helping people in need, like reducing child poverty and improving the youth guarantee. But instead of shouting about it from the rooftops, they're just kind of... quietly doing it 
. If Labour can get their message out there and keep the momentum going, we could see some real progress on tackling poverty and inequality 
. Like, have you seen the stats on child poverty? Over 450k kids lifted out of poverty - that's some serious progress! And it's not just about throwing money at the problem either, they've actually made changes to the system like removing the two-child limit, which is a total game-changer 
. They're just trying to make a real difference in people's lives. And can we talk about how messed up Pip was? That 5-week delay was straight-up cruel 
. So yeah, let's give Labour some love and hear more about their successes, fam! 
its like they're too scared to talk about their own policies and achievements, you know? and its not just that, its also the way people are still conditioned to believe that benefits and social security is always a bad thing, like labors trying to take money from pensioners or whatever 
i've been following labour's welfare changes and i'm like literally so proud of them 
they're doing so much to tackle poverty and inequality it's amazing! and yeah why is nobody saying it out loud?! 
i'm so here for it! 
but honestly it's not rocket science and we need more ppl like timms and field fighting for us 
. And don't even get me started on Pip - it's time the gov't gets its act together on that one 
. Labour might not be shouting about all their successes, but at least they're making progress, right? 
. It's like the opposite of the "broken record" effect - instead of just saying "we're good at social security", let's see some real evidence to back it up! 
. and honestly who thought it was a bad idea to get rid of the two-child limit for universal credit?! 
not just pip, but the whole system of working-age benefits has been stuck in neutral for 40 years that's just crazy 
. we need labour to keep celebrating their wins and not let the Tories take them away from us 