Universal Credit should be a safety net, not a punishment for being poor

The idea that people on benefits aren’t trying hard enough to find work feels like a tired old trope. Most people want to be employed and contributing, not stuck relying on the state. Instead of making the process more punitive, we should be asking why so many people are in this situation in the first place. Is it lack of skills, caring responsibilities, mental health issues, or just a complete failure of the job market in certain areas?

If we want to help people get back into work, we need to invest in actual support. That means funding good quality retraining programs, providing accessible childcare, and offering genuine one-on-one guidance from people who aren’t just trying to hit targets. Tying payments to some vague notion of "activity" just sounds like another way to cut costs by making life harder for the most vulnerable, and it’ll end up creating more bureaucracy, not less.