November 2007

Labour’s work and pensions secretary Peter Hain vows to “rip up sicknote Britain.”

What: Peter Hain says that Incapacity Benefits have “embedded the sick-note into the British economy. We must rip up sick-note Britain.”

Why significant: Rhetoric like this was to become increasingly common over the next few years, under both the Labour and coalition governments, in building consent for punitive policies.