When benefits rise in line with soaring inflation on Thursday, expect a sea of self-congratulation. The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, and his fellow ministers will pretend they wanted to boost benefits all along, while rightwing cheerleaders in the press will talk of Britain’s “generous” welfare state. The reality, though, is altogether different: millions of people who rely on the social safety net still won’t be able to afford to eat, stay warm, or clean.
The erosion of social security rates over the past 40 years has fundamentally broken the link between what state support provides and what it actually costs to live: basic benefits today are at least £140 a month below the real cost of food, energy and everyday essentials, according to recent research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. This shortfall will notably remain even after April’s 10.1% uprating for benefits in England and Wales, and any non-devolved Scottish benefits, not least because bills – from water and broadband to council tax – are due to rise sharply. And for many, the situation is even worse: more than half of households on universal credit receive less than the basic rate because of the widespread practice of benefit reductions.
