Even during the 1960's height of the postwar settlement, cabinet ministers were obsessed with benefit scroungers, Judith Hart in particular. The provisions of the 1834 poor law reform act have always remained at the ideological core of British govts regardless of stripe.
Gerry Hassan@GerryHassan
Sep 24
Unemployment benefit in the UK is £95.55 per week for those aged 25 & over. It is 14% of average full-time earnings: the lowest in the developed world. Yet it is still too high for the Tories & right-wing vandals who would ideally live in a world where it did not exist.
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During the 1960s the British welfare state was widely characterized as austere and minimalist compared with its continental and Scandinavian neighbours, yet scrounger bashing was always at the centre of political debate. It's a mistake to assume Thatcher kick-started it.
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The obsession that somebody somewhere may be getting something for nothing is at the very heart of the British political and popular psyche. It always has been and always will be regardless of who is in power.

Sep 25, 2026 · 8:55 AM UTC

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Replying to @gem_ste
Both Scotland and England's Reformations really did seem to internalise a "those who won't work won't eat" attitude in a way that other countries just didn't.
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The Calvinist hangover has never truly lifted
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Replying to @gem_ste
*someone who doesn't deserve it. Almost everyone with this mindset believes in an ingroup that should be allowed to receive something for nothing; they're just worried about people who aren't the Betters being granted membership to that group.
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