Georgie and the benefits

The plot thickens in regards PIP, as Tory rebels want to scupper cuts to unemployment benefits, despite rises apparently promised to other help funds: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/george-osborne-rocked-growing-tory-7575776#rlabs=6%20rt$sitewide%20p$5



This will doubtless embolden leftists, who can't even dent the Tories by desecrating war memorials. However, even this probably won't help the Labour front bench as, once again, they don't drive events here. The last block to benefit cuts came with lords put in by New Labour and this one by other Tories. Meaning if this new event isn't exactly a Tory win, it won't be the Corbynistas' either.

Which may frustrate them, poor babes.

Oh dear. Tories in absolute turmoil as IDS resigns!

Seems that cutting money from benefits for the severely disabled in order to fund tax cuts for the wealthy is a step too far even for the nasty IDS.

Now now now, Left! Cutting disability handouts will never stretch to feed the 'rich' by cutting capital gains tax! How disingenuous!

And for those complaining that Iain Duncan Smith did nothing but hurt people, there's serious puzzlement as to why he's gone. But he did always work from points of principle, however divorced he may have been from reality on the ground. He did always seem genuinely hurt when things went wrong and was lambasted. He's actually had battles over funds and legislation before, so in retrospect I could have seen this coming.

Now Jeremy Corbyn wants to force a Parliamentary vote on benefit cuts for the disabled, to avoid them going through without a vote on a technicality. And with polls showing public enthusiasm with general cuts beginning to cool mid-term, I think this marks the turning point: the cut to something touching a nerve in the British psyche.

It will be interesting to see whether strategies change, on top of tactics for the rest of the term. How Osborne gets through this will be a forerunner of how he will truly have his mettle tested as Prime Minister.