Work and pensions secretary is to give a speech denigrating Labour's record and claiming welfare reforms are working.
Middle-class Britain has been shocked by the hidden reality of welfare ghettos revealed by TV programmes such as Benefits Street, Iain Duncan Smith is expected to say as he welcomes a Bank of England report claiming that his welfare-to-work reforms are bearing fruit.{jcomments on}
In a speech on Thursday (23rd Jan) marking the 10th anniversary of the formation of the Centre for Social Justice thinktank, the work and pensions secretary is due to say: "With income inequality under Labour the worst for a generation, whilst the middle-class majority were aware of the problems in poor communities, they remained largely unaware of the true nature of life on some of our estates.
"We let these problems be ghettoised as though they were a different country. Even now, for the most part they remain out of sight – meaning people are shocked when they are confronted with a TV programme such as Benefits Street."
The Channel 4 show has caused huge controversy, with some claiming the programme makers misled residents of the street about the concept for the series, while others say it has revealed the reality of a life trapped in worklessness and benefit dependency.
Read the full article in the Guardian
