Ahead of tomorrow’s Budget, Guido’s interactive chart shows just how well George Osborne did at cutting welfare spending during the last parliament:
The massively increased spending on pensions makes up most of the overall rise, though it is debatable whether old age ‘benefits’ should be included in the welfare budget.
That said, spending on sickness and disability benefits increased by some £7 billion.
The housing bill went up by almost £4 billion.
There was a small drop in the cost of unemployment benefits.
Overall, between 2010 and 2014, total spending on welfare increased by £28 billion.
Austerity? What austerity?
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