Surely it was obvious that cutting Britain's gargantuan welfare bill was going to hit the poorest hardest? They are the ones who most rely on benefits, so why is everyone suddenly so surprised that the Spending Review's measures to cut the deficit affect these people the most?
Obviously the truth is that the surprise is somewhat manufactured, predominantly by Labour to extract maximum political advantage from the 'Tory cuts'.
One problem. The majority of people agree that the cuts have to be made. And despite the severity of the cuts, Labour still hasn't jumped ahead in the polls as might be expected, even with its shiny new leader.
Labour calls the cuts a 'gamble'. However, it is Labour who are taking the real gamble. If the deficit goes down, and growth and jobs go up, then they're going to look like right bananas.
And if IDS' new Universal Benefit, which makes it pay more to work than not to, ends up lifting large numbers of people of Labour's poverty trap, then perhaps the cuts won't hit the poorest hardest after all.
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