Benefit claimants would lose money if they failed to take up job offers under a Labour government, Ed Balls said yesterday, as he sought to fend off Tory claims that the party was soft on welfare.
Mr Balls, the Shadow Chancellor, said that young people would be penalised for refusing work under a new emphasis that Labour would place on welfare reform. “Not working and turning down a job is absolutely not an option under a Labour government,” he said.
The pledge came as the Government published its Bill to squeeze welfare payments for the coming three years, which Labour opposes. Mr Balls also said that:
• his stammer was not an excuse for his below-par response to the Autumn Statement, although he has had