Today, the new Work and Pensions Secretary (it’s Betsy Duncan-Smith’s husband, whatever he’s called) has announced a radical overhaul of the welfare system. Actually, looking beyond the headlines, it’s pretty much a continuation of the work the Labour government had set in motion in recent years.

The modern welfare state was designed in the 1940s to suit the needs of a post-war society.  It is a testament to those social pioneers that the system has survived largely intact for six decades.  However, where I agree with Iain Duncan-Smith (and with his predecessors James Purnell and Yvette Cooper (that’s Mrs Balls to IDS)) is that the system is now not fit for purpose.

We now live in a society completely changed from 1940s Britain.  Take pensions for example. Back then, most adult males didn’t survive many years past retirement. Added to that, the balance between the working age population and the retired population meant the system was designed to be both affordable and sustainable for the long-term.

Now I am proud that in the last six decades the life chances of the population have improved substantially for both men and women.  It is a good thing that more people are living longer.  But it now puts enormous strain on the welfare state (not just the benefits side, but the NHS and social care too) and funding is becoming an issue.  Added to that, we now have a society where retired people outnumber the working age population.  It is clear that the current system, which has served us so well, cannot be funded indefinitely without major changes to the demographics of the UK.

Pensions is an obvious hot potato for the incoming government, but it isn’t the only issue.  We have to move on from the notion that welfare benefits are ‘mine as of right’.  It is so frustrating for me as an MP to see genuinely needy people at my advice surgery who can get nothing out of the system, and then others who seemingly manage to milk the same system, without having put anything in (nor intending to in the future).  So we do need to rebalance the benefits system so that it is more about giving people a ‘hand up’ when they need it, rather than just a ‘hand out’.

It is that culture that has to change and, in my opinion, it can only be done by completely re-drawing the system to fit the modern age.  For too long in the past we’ve tinkered here and there, but not really addressed the real flaws in the system.  I hope when the dust settles on the new government, we in Parliament can have a good and proper debate on the needs of the modern welfare state; to give extra help to those who genuinely need it, when they need it, and to continue to help the elderly, weak and most vulnerable in society.