The unemployed and the moral case for benefit sanctions

This article assesses the Conservative-led Coalition Government’s (2010–2015) record on benefit sanctions and work-for-your-benefit (workfare) policies. It is argued that while the schemes largely built upon previous Labour Governments’ (1997–2010) policies, the Coalition Government also switched back to a traditional Conservative discourse, according to which jobseekers are part of a “work-shy” minority who live at the expense of the “hard working” taxpaying majority. The crackdown on unemployment benefits was broadly popular with the public, which explains why the Coalition Government was able to implement a relatively harsh benefit sanctions regime. Work-for-your-benefit policies, by contrast, were faced with a series of political and legal challenges