Your question, Robert, ‘How could this government make this choice on pensioners?’ is an interesting one. I think the explanation might lie in an ideological mindset reminiscent of the Protestants of the sixteenth century who believed that faith alone could make a man righteous in the sight of God. And righteousness inspires good works. Labour have their own credo. Its tenets include such beliefs as the poor are poor because the rich are rich, profit implies exploitation, the rich should be taxed till the pips squeak, independent schools are a bastion of privilege, private medicine is wrong, public servants have a right to squeeze as much money as they can from the state, the Tories are basically selfish and dishonest etc. If you believe all these things, that makes you a right thinking person in Labour circles. And a right thinking person can only do what is right, no? Rachel Reeves no doubt has convinced herself that she is a good socialist because she believes this stuff, or much of it, so by definition all her decisions are taken in the interests of ‘working people’. This includes the decision to cut WFA because it is aimed at reducing the deficit, you see, which will help Labour bring about the change for which the country is crying out after a decade or more of Tory misrule.
Steven Rose ● 778d