Duncan Smith: welfare reforms will save money and get people back to work

Has it not occurred to anybody to ask why with the advances in technology we are not reducing retirement age and adding holidays.

They are managing to hoodwink just about everybody and the media and so called clever people say nothing.

time for people to wake up.

George,

You cannot work for less than 40 years and expect to live for 30 years in retirement without somebody putting funds aside equivalent to a very large proportion of your income each year.

But immigrants are still allowed to arrive on our shores and take any benefits, including NHS treatment???

Yet the elderly are still supposed to pay for their care???

I just wonder what the next general election will bring - and I expect that it will be very soon, because Jekyll and Hyde will not be able to paper over the obvious cracks in their alliance for very long.

Nobody has come out of this wreckage with any credit so far. The so-called government have missed almost every opportunity to do anything constructive for the "common good" and the so-called opposition have disintegrated.

This country needs REAL leadership, but sadly there appears to be no REAL leaders!

2 easy solutions which would cause people to tighten belts but not cause undue hardship;

1. All NON-Frontline civil servants to be put on a 4 day week with immediate effect. Thats everyone except Teachers, Police, Fire, Nurses, and Doctors. This will immediately save £10 billion a year. Reduced salaries will also significantly reduce public sector pensions liabilities.

Hard, but no loss of jobs. Those who want to leave will leave at no redundancy cost to the Exchequer.

2. ALL benefits, with the exception of child allowance and child tax credit, to be reduced this year by 5% immediately. Then by another 5% for each of the coming 4 years so that in 5 years benefits reduced by 25%.

Hard again but people should be able to cope with this slow reduction and adjust lives i.e get a job.

Hello JaywKay,

You certainly can but the whole system would have to change from the crazy failed economic system that exists and was bestowed on us from a time when it worked.

Times have changed, the answer is simple but no economist or politician has the balls, foresight or gumption to start enacting it.

Georgehants has it right. We need a leader.

The challenge is that many complained about the last one that we did have - the last one to stand up and be counted.

I remember seeing Mts Thatcher being accosted live on tv about sinking the Belgrano during the Falkland's war, because it wasn't in our waters, was sailing away from the Falklands and 1,000 "innocent" sailors died.

To her credit, Mrs Thatcher said in her inimitable calm and clear manner that the Belgrano was indeed not in our waters, was indeed sailing away from the Falklands, but was a "threat to our boys". She went on to say that she gave the order to sink it, she killed 1,000 "innocent" sailors and because it was a threat to our boys, she was proud to have done it!

What chance would there ever have been of 2-face Tony or Gormless Gordon taking that tack? My guess is no chance at all. And as for Jekyll and Hyde?

And the last leader before Mrs Thatcher was (in my opinion) the greatest of them all - Sir Winston Churchill.

To repeat what I said earlier, we need REAL leaders, but we don't appear to have any.

Hi Dave,

The right leader at the right time.

Churchill - War.

Maggie - Unions and Left Wing.

Now a leader able to see and combat a system that is as damaging and out of date as either war or excess union power.

The economic system does not fit todays productivity to give people more leisure and shorter working lives.

It is not either Capitalist or Communist etc. it is what is and works best at any time.