Slashing £5bn of benefits is not generally what Labour MPs get into politics for, but Liz at least tried to enjoy herself

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Call it a process of radicalisation. It’s a fair bet that when Liz Kendall was elected to parliament in 2010, she never imagined that one day she would be giving a statement to the Commons as work and pensions secretary that included a £5bn cut to the welfare budget. It’s not generally the type of thing that Labour members get into politics for. But time, ambition and pragmatism all play their part. And, on Tuesday, that moment arrived for Liz.

We were at the tail end of the five stages of grief. The denial. This wasn’t really happening to her. The anger when she realised it was really happening to her. There was no way of avoiding her destiny. The bargaining. Perhaps she could spin this as a good thing. Yes, that was it. Cuts were a moral force for good. She would be helping people in ways they didn’t know they needed helping. Depression. Who wouldn’t stare into the abyss given her choices? Finally, acceptance. It was what it was. A shitty job but someone had to do it. So she might as well try to enjoy herself.