When is a Labour MP not a labour MP? When they're government ministers it seems, when they have to roll out Tory-esque policies every day to seemingly stay in the news. The drivel that pours out of our central leadership today being that Caroline Flint, housing minister, suggests that those not seeking employment should be evicted from council homes. Following in the vein of Hazel Blears she wants to introduce yet more contracts, the theme of this government seemingly being to legally enshrine the British public in to some kind of duty to the state (do they enjoy being called Stalinist I wonder?).

Of course this scheme is moronic, aside from the fact that it only encourages people to get on to job seekers allowance to prove they are searching even if they don't need it, and aside from the fact that it potentially discriminates against single mothers doing the best they can, it reaches the real lows of intelligent policy when you realise that you are only perpetuating the spiral of poverty.

People will unfortunately be drawn in by this headline, they'll say "yeah, fucking spongers, get a job or stop getting the benefit!" What they'll completely ignore is firstly how few people there are in council housing claiming benefit they're not entitled to under current rules, and they'll be ignoring that by kicking someone out on the street with their family they have just condemned them to a life where employment becomes an impossibility and therefore crime becomes the only avenue for those looking to protect themselves and their family. I personally believe that Grant Shapps, as detestable as the man is, is completely correct that no government would legally be able to do such a thing.

As Linda Jack also says, especially irate for the hypocrisy of the government on this one, when it comes to trying to end child poverty this is something that the government should be steering well clear of. I'm all for "something for something" and I believe that there is a duty of those receiving such benefits to "give something back" as it were, but this has to be done through incentive schemes and a redressing of the benefit rules. Anything less than this is just pushing the poor in society further towards criminal means.