How George Osborne learned to relax and start loving Universal Credit

The Chancellor is using the reform as a trojan horse for benefit cuts, says Emily Thornberry.

Remember Universal Credit? You know, “the most radical overhaul of our welfare system since its inception”? The “once in a generation reform” that was going to “improve the lives of millions”?

Yes, some truly ridiculous things have been said about Universal Credit over the years, mostly by Tory ministers. On the more realistic end of the spectrum, my predecessor Stephen Timms once pointed out, with admirable restraint, that the government was “in danger of overselling the benefits of Universal Credit.