People might stomach higher taxes if they saw public services improving and waste being cut. Instead, they see decline, and a Civil Service too often lacking the ambition to deliver better. Massive sums continue to be spent chasing unrealistic climate targets, while the mounting costs of unmanaged immigration are ignored.
And this brings us to an important point about integrity and responsibility in government. Strong public services depend on a strong economy, but they also depend on spending wisely and protecting every pound meant for those in genuine need.
Yet here in Northern Ireland, Sinn Fein cannot even bring itself to allow progress on proposals brought forward by DUP Communities Minister Gordon Lyons to strengthen investigations into welfare fraud and error. He submitted this work in May, yet Sinn Fein have stalled it for six months.
This is not a minor issue. Welfare fraud and error in Northern Ireland is estimated at almost £350 million. Every pound lost is a pound taken away from people who genuinely need support.
The proposals Gordon brought forward are entirely reasonable: increasing investigative capacity, improving checks, and ensuring that money wrongly paid out is recovered and redirected to frontline support. The financial case is overwhelming. Every £1 invested in tackling fraud and error returns £8 to the public purse. Put simply, hiring an investigator costing around £100,000 typically results in the recovery of £800,000 a year. Northern Ireland and the Treasury share these savings 50:50, meaning both benefit directly from stronger oversight.
So why has Sinn Fein stalled this? Why drag their feet on measures that protect the most vulnerable and ensure credibility in the welfare system? Why refuse to let Gordon Lyons get on with the job of tackling fraud and error?
