Rebels raise a toast to sicknote Britain

THE political adage “you campaign in poetry, you govern in prose” can never have been more apt. Even as this is being written, Sir Keir Starmer and his aides are battling to defuse a Labour revolt over its flagship welfare reform policy.

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This despite a climbdown in the early hours of Friday morning that marked his third U-turn in a month.

Last week was when idealism was replaced with realism and the PM's relationship with scores of his own MPs deteriorated beyond recognition.

But as rebels toast their victory in hobbling the Government, and celebrate as they signal they could cling to a position where a government defeat looms despite a triple digit majority, here are some other numbers they might want to consider.

The sickness benefits bill has soared from £50billion a year before the pandemic to £80billion a year now and is set to be over £100billion in just five years.

The nation is saddled with so much debt the interest payment alone is £108billion a year and 1,000 new applications for benefits are filed each day with the Department of Work and Pensions. Are you buying that all 1,000 are genuine? No, me neither.