Mel Stride: Reeves has no plan – only the Conservatives will tackle welfare reform

Sir Mel Stride is the Shadow Chancellor and MP for Central Devon.

When the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, sat down for her latest interview in Washington and floated the idea of cutting the Motability tax exemption, it was telling – not for what she said, but for how little it amounted to.

We need proper welfare reform, not just tinkering at the margins. Labour’s scattergun approach to welfare and spending unravelled over the summer, and the Chancellor is desperately trying to patch the holes. It suggests she knows there is no prospect of going any further without triggering another rebellion from her own MPs.

This government inherited the strongest economy in the G7. In just over a year, it has lost control: growth is flatlining; debt is rising; taxes are at a 70-year high; and now, Labour is scrabbling around the back of the sofa for savings. Why? Because they know what’s coming in the autumn Budget: more tax rises, and more broken promises.

Let’s be clear: Reeves is not making bold choices. She’s reacting to ours.

Last week, the Conservatives set out a clear and principled plan to reform Motability – ending the taxpayer subsidy for expensive cars, reforming the tax breaks, and stopping benefits for those for whom work is the better alternative. That’s the right approach: a fair system that supports the truly vulnerable, not one that funds BMWs for those who don’t need them.

And what happened? Seven days later, Reeves began trailing a watered-down version of our policy. So why did it take an announcement from the Opposition to finally get her to open her red box?

We know why. Labour has no direction on welfare. Earlier this year, Reeves caved in to her own backbenchers and abandoned welfare reform altogether. That sent a clear message: the Chancellor lacks the backbone to do what’s right for the taxpayer.

The truth is, unless we bring down government spending – especially our spiralling welfare bill – Reeves will have no choice but to keep hiking taxes. That’s not just bad economics. It’s a betrayal of working people who are already paying more and getting less.

Contrast that with our plan. Under a Conservative government, we would deliver a comprehensive £23 billion package of welfare reforms. That means ending the culture of dependency and ensuring benefits go only to those truly in need. We’d stop paying benefits for people with mild conditions, where often what is needed is treatment and support not just a monthly cheque, and get people back into work – as we believe work is better for people’s health as well as their finances.

And because we’re serious about controlling spending, we can cut the deficit and at the same time deliver targeted tax cuts – not the endless tax rises Labour offer. That means abolishing business rates for thousands of pubs and small shops on our high streets, scrapping stamp duty on main homes, and introducing the ‘First Job Bonus’ to cut taxes for hardworking young people saving for a home.

Our approach is fair, responsible, and honest with the public. Because the public can see through Labour’s game: a government that won’t touch welfare, but is set to raise taxes again, and  chancellor who claims to be a steward of the economy, but keeps reaching into the taxpayers’ pocket to pay for her u-turns.

Only the Conservatives will get a grip on public spending, bring down the welfare bill, and cut taxes for working people. That is the path to long-term economic security – and it’s the path we will deliver.