Rachel Reeves’ ‘clumsy’ Labour deputy makes grovelling apology for comparing disabled benefits cuts to reducing a child’s pocket money _nhy
Rachel Reeves‘ Treasury deputy has made a grovelling apology after comparing Labour’s benefit cuts to reducing a child’s pocket money.
Darren Jones admitted last night that he had been ‘tactless’ when he compared the drive to get millions of people back into work to telling a teen to get a weekend job instead of accepting a handout.
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury came under fire over his remarks on live television yesterday.
He offered the ‘insulting’ and ‘patronising’ example after an analysis of the measures, carried out by the Department for Work and Pensions, found that 3.2million families will be worse off due to the welfare changes.
Chancellor Ms Reeves hung her deputy out to dry this morning by admitting his remarks had been ‘clumsy’.
The move has infuriated Labour backbenchers, potentially triggering the largest rebellion since the party took power.
Appearing on ITV‘s Peston last night Mr Jones said: ‘I recognise that wasn’t good enough and I apologise if I’ve offended people’
‘I’m sorry about it. It was tactless and it wasn’t well considered.
Appearing on ITV’s Peston last night Mr Jones said: ‘I recognise that wasn’t good enough and I apologise if I’ve offended people’
Chancellor Ms Reeves hung her deputy out to dry this morning by admitting his remarks had been ‘clumsy’.
‘What I was trying to explain in simple terms was what the impact assessment considers and what it doesn’t consider.
‘The impact assessment considers how much money you lose by coming off of the social security system but it doesn’t consider how much money you gain by being back in work.
‘I should have used a different set of words to explain it. I recognise that wasn’t good enough and I apologise if I’ve offended people’
Mr Jones, as he attempted to defend Government’s welfare cuts, pointed to how the analysis did not consider the impact of other action being taken by Labour.
‘My understanding is what the impact assessment doesn’t account for is the benefit that you get from our additional money into support for training, skills or work,’ he told BBC Politics Live.
‘Take, for example, if I said to my kids: ‘I’m going to cut your pocket money by £10 per week, but you have to go and get a Saturday job’.
‘The impact assessment on that basis would say that my kids were down £10, irrespective of how much money they get from their Saturday job.’
Mr Jones’ comments were swiftly branded ‘offensive’ and ‘patronising’ by critics, while Apsana Begum – the independent MP for Poplar and Limehouse – said they were ‘staggering’.
Asked if her deputy was right to make the comparison, the Chancellor told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘No, he was clumsy in his analogy, and he’s apologised for that.’
Pressed further on whether it was right to compare benefits with pocket money, she said: ‘Of course it’s not pocket money.’
Liberal Democrat MP Steve Darling, his party’s work and pensions spokesperson and who is himself registered blind, demanded Mr Jones apologise.
He said: ‘This is incredibly insulting and shows the Government just doesn’t understand the challenges facing people with disabilities.
‘Darren Jones owes an apology to the hundreds of thousands of people his Government’s decision has pushed into poverty and the millions more whose lives they have made more challenging.
‘If the Government was serious about managing the welfare bill it would urgently fix social care, not wait three years for a review that should be completed by the end of this year at the very latest.’
Mr Darling raised the comments again today in the Commons as he asked an Urgent Question about the PIP changes.
