Compassion is a dangerous new phrase to shut down debate on welfare

Frank Young, 22 November 2022

Compassion is the latest meaningless, feel-good gobbledygook used by campaigners to shut down serious political discussion on welfare reform. Welfare is one of the most expensive things any government does. Payments to the sick, unemployed and low waged will total £142 billion next year. Only pensions and healthcare are more expensive.

We’re at risk of entering a ‘doom loop’ of ever higher spending. There are fewer working age adults to pay taxes– something that will choke the country’s ability to pay its bills. The welfare bill has increased by £30 billion over the last five years, with another additional £90 billion set to be spent over the next half decade. Poverty is an expensive business.

It should worry us when serious politicians defend their decisions based on compassion alone. It is the end of rational debate, replaced instead with the politics of emotion. Anyone finding themselves questioning a decision based on ‘compassion’ must surely be callous. This is the way of modern political debate. Instead of sensible discussion, the poverty lobby will make any debate a referendum on compassion – with non-believers cast as heartless heretics.

Deciding to cloak yourself in compassion isn’t consequence free for other worthy causes. What goes to one group will often come from another. There are many other areas of government activity that are desperately short of cash. Schools are close to bankruptcy, with additional billions promised last week only likely to partially cover the costs of unfunded pay rises and crippling energy costs. We’re losing the fight against crime, something that brings misery – often to poorer communities. Social care for children – easily one of the most deserving groups of our compassion – and care for the elderly has been chronically underfunded for years. The list goes on. Many would welcome an additional £11 billion every year.

At some point we need some honesty on public spending and this will involve the biggest budgets; welfare will be no exception. This is the honesty we need in our public debate. Britain has no cap on government spending, no law that limits Chancellors. Household incomes will fall by seven per cent next year, as families on welfare see their incomes rise. Government debt repayments will soon overtake most areas of public spending, making us all poorer.

It is a long time since we were all in this together. Increases to welfare could have matched increases to working pay, but in the face of a vocal poverty lobby, many billions were found overnight. When we cut tax as a country it was described as encouraging a temporary sugar rush which would soon fade as the bills needed to be paid. It works both ways. Making a decision based on compassion alone just puts off the day the bills need to be paid. It is for Chancellors to decide, but eventually someone is left to speak truth to the voters – we’ve run out of money.

Frank Young is editorial director at Civitas.