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Tory minister Iain Duncan Smith last night announced a controversial plan to move the unemployed to areas of the country where there are more jobs.

The Work and Pensions Secretary said jobless workers could be forced to move hundreds of miles away from their homes.

His comments echo former Tory minister Norman Tebbit who in 1981 said the unemployed should "get on your bike" and look for work.

Former Tory leader Dun-can Smith insisted it was the only way to help millions of people "trapped in estates where there is no work".

If they agreed to give up benefits, they would be allowed to go to the top of housing waiting lists in a new area.

Mr Duncan Smith said: "Sometimes you just need to be able to move to the work."

Shadow Education Secretary Ed Balls described the new proposal as "profoundly unfair".