by Sunny Hundal

Chris Skidmore, MP for Kingswood, and a member of the Free Enterprise Group, has an idea to ‘reform’ the welfare state.

For individuals aged under 25 who have not yet paid National Insurance contributions for a certain period, perhaps five years, unemployment benefit should be in the form of a repayable loan. An unemployed teenager would still receive the same amount of cash as now, for example, but they would be expected to repay the value once in work.

Ahh. Otherwise known as keeping people in poverty even after they’ve started earning.

His own calculations show it would save barely £1.3bn a year. For that he’s willing to keep some people in poverty.

Other bright ideas:

People over 25 without a contribution record should be obliged to join the Work Programme or an alternative welfare-to-work scheme within three months of beginning to claim – but a record of contribution should delay this requirement incrementally.

Again – this has very little to do with masses of young people deliberately staying on benefits because they’re generous. Young people are on benefits because there aren’t enough jobs to go around.

If the Tories actually did something to grow the economy and create jobs this wouldn’t be an issue. Instead of that task they want to focus on cutting benefits.

(hat-tip Eoin Clarke)