It’s no wonder many people on welfare are starting to look back on the last government with affection

You can’t help feeling we are on an inexorably depressing race to the bottom. A highway to hell. Or possibly heaven for the more perverse. A mission to make people’s lives as miserable as possible. To believe the worst of everyone. All under the guise of national redemption. A country fit for the 21st century.

We live in confusing times. There was a time when it was easy to spot clear blue water between the main political parties. Increasingly, though, you’d be hard pushed to differentiate between Labour, the Conservatives and Reform. Especially when it comes to matters of welfare and social justice. Some Labour backbenchers must be wondering what the hell is going on, given the things they are now expected to justify. Their consciences are frazzled. Is this really what they entered parliament for?