By: A.C.
I usually try to avoid Andrew Marr on a Sunday Morning unless there is a reason for watching. As I get older, I no longer sit quietly and listen to politicians being interviewed. I seem to end up uttering short explosive rebuttals or condemnations of an interviewee’s character or policy.
Ian Duncan Smith was a guest today on the programme, and you can judge for yourself what he says here.
I watched in incredulity as he made out that he was a champion of the disabled and in Government he defended the rights and benefits of the disabled. He twice mentioned the evangelical group ‘Centre for Social Justice’ that he takes credit for setting up. I mentioned this group in a post last Autumn and its American model of low taxes, welfare on charities etc. He actually replied to a question on “immorality by the Tory Party” by saying that he left that to other people as he was not a Churchman.
Today on television he continually tried to portray himself as a passionate defender of the poor, disabled and unfortunate against a Tory Party Chancellor who was continually slashing his budget and causing problems for him and his department.
Then why did he wait for six years to protest at ideological cuts? Why did he not resign sooner?
In the last Tory Government IDS was championing the nasty propaganda; the discredited ATOS and now Maximus assessments; the reduction in ESA WRAG; the PIP /DLA shambles; the Omnishambles that is Universal Credit; the failed IT system that was supposed to deliver his much vaunted flagship policy: so why is he now saying that he was like the knight in armour bravely defending the disabled?
As we scornfully say in Scotland : Aye , Right, and I sailed up the Clyde on a bike.