As the first coronavirus unemployment figures begin to reveal the future we’re facing, what now? What should those of us long committed to replacing or reforming our creaking system, call for? Is the new world ready to be born?
The old neoliberal order has been on life support for over a decade, and yet politics remains huddled around it, refusing to read out the last rites. And nowhere has this been more evident than in welfare policy, where a decade of relentless cuts and punitive sanctions has left us with the mangled monster of Universal Credit.
The Department for Work and Pensions is convinced Universal Credit is now working, based purely on the fact it hasn't collapsed amid the torrent of lockdown applicants. But this is largely because the government has temporarily stripped so many of the checks, conditions and complexities out of the system to stop it collapsing - the real Universal Credit is essentially on hold.
