What happened when Tony Blair cut benefits for single mums?

In 1997, Tony Blair returned Labour to power with a landslide majority. But many people who hoped for radical change were left disappointed when he announced that Labour would continue with the Tory plan to scrap the Lone Parent Premium, a welfare top up for single parents. Lone parents protested; Labour MPs revolted; and Blair had to decide whether to plough on with the measure or surrender to his backbenchers. In the week after Keir Starmer buckled under pressure from his MPs over the Personal Independent Payment, Lee and Richard look at Blair's approach to a similar dilemma almost three decades ago.In this episode, the following books are mentioned:'Queen James: The Life and Loves of Britain’s First King' by Gareth Russell. Available at: https://amzn.to/44vEJEN'Storyteller: The Life of Roald Dahl' by Donald Sturrock. Available at: https://amzn.to/4lcmA5N***Since Attlee & Churchill is a podcast about post-war British politics - since Attlee & Churchill - and is hosted by Lee David Evans, an historian of the Conservative Party, and Richard Johnson, an historian of the Labour Party. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.