Well, the Tories are harping on about this now, but I remember very well before Labour got into Government that the question of working as opposed to live on benefits was exactly the same as today. In fact, Labour decided to bring out some form which would convince you that you where better of working, rather than not. Realitiy soon shows this to be different and it will with this silly attempt of making the unemployed the scapegoat of the mismanaged economy. Labour, Conservatives, LibDems all the same, clueless.

For anyone with kids, with the tax credit system as set up under labour you are better off working...unless of course you are pulling a fast one and working on the side.

nah.. not for me. Just before Labour came in I had been forced to give up my job in a pub, as they worked out each quarter on the previous quarters income (irrelevant of explanations or circumstances)...   they assumed I would earn the same amount of money in Jan, Feb, March as I had in Oct, Nov, Dec - XMAS...  busiest time of the year in the pub... overtime a plenty, and some shifts were doubletime.   January we were lucky to get one shift a week.    I think I was expected to live on £12 a week.    I was gutted, but had no choice...  back to being stuck at home, in the benefit trap.

Then Labour came in and changed the way family tax credit was awarded and I think they renamed it Working Family Tax Credit.   All of a sudden it was possible to work...    they gave us back our dignity.

I agree with the Tax Credit making a huge difference, but I was actually talking about before Labour thought of that. My real point was that the Tories are making a big fuss about something they never did anything about in the 80s and 90s, but are now using it as another club to beat labour with.