This has become an event so frequent in British politics that it now borders on cliché. It does not seem to matter which party is in power or who leads the Treasury: those who are too ill to work have become used to being told that they are an unaffordable, unsustainable burden on everybody else.
Reeves’s article could easily have been written by any of her Conservative predecessors. She insisted that “we cannot keep footing the bill for the spiralling number of people out of work”, as if people suffering from sickness in a country with the sixth biggest economy in the world have no right to expect support.
And so, the Chancellor insisted, she would “look closely at the rising cost of health and disability benefits”. That sort of language has become all too familiar to those reliant on these payments. They know what happens next: further cuts to benefits that are already woefully inadequate for many who rely on them.
Particularly curious was her decision to ignore one of the biggest causes of the soaring benefits bill: the dire state of the NHS. Whether they are suffering from an arthritic hip or long-term depression, people too unwell to work are waiting longer than ever to get the help and treatment they need.
The Chancellor, of course, is in a position to change this. If she was serious about tackling the reasons that Britain has become the sick man of Europe, she would be ploughing more money into mental health services to support the 1 million people currently waiting for treatment. Such an investment now would deliver a very quick return.
And so, it seems, the Chancellor will reach for the easiest lever at her disposal when it comes to cutting the welfare bill: making it even harder for people to claim incapacity benefits.
It is possible to put an economic value on this wellbeing boost, using the Treasury’s own formulae, and the figure is massive. According to the report, the life improvements that come with receiving disability benefits amount to a value of £12,300 per person per year – a total of £42bn for those receiving support. That compares to a £28bn cost of providing benefits to these people. In other words, continuing to pay disability benefits is a worthwhile investment and promotes growth – and there is even an economic case for increasing, rather than reducing, access.
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Read MoreAt the same time, the Chancellor should rethink her words as well as her actions. Pitting benefit claimants against working people and telling them that the country can no longer afford their ill-health perpetuates the demonisation of those who are genuinely too sick to work.
Recent governments have allowed us to be ruthlessly exploited by fast food giants and tech corporations, oversaw a cack-handed response to a global pandemic and allowed our health system to fall into disrepair. It is little wonder we are increasingly unhealthy, mentally and physically – yet still our politicians and much of the media imply that it is somehow the fault of those who are sick.
Now Reeves is continuing this narrative and soon, it seems, will once again take the axe to the support they rely on. Far from being a cause for boasts, it would, if it happens, be a cause for shame.
Ben Kentish presents his LBC show from Monday to Friday at 10pm, and is former Westminster editor
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