Letters From A Tory Daily views on British politics and the Conservative Party from a centre-right thinker who writes letters on his blog to politicians, journalists and many others.

“The most habit-forming, dependency-creating, narcotic substance known to man is the milk which flows from the collective breast of the taxpayers”
- Lord Tebbit on ‘welfare junkies’

Dear libertarians,
Seeing as Parliament is on leave for a couple of weeks, I’ve got the chance to pick up on a curious story that might grab your attention.  Apparently, a new scheme to clamp down on benefit fraudsters is ‘under consideration’ for the Labour manifesto.  While this is hardly news in itself, I thought it [...]

Dear David Cameron,
As you try to hook the media on your new ‘Work Programme’ instead of having them rattle on about the Lisbon Treaty, I thought now would be a good time to write to you about a recent article I saw in the Guardian on drug and alcohol testing for benefit claimants, as these [...]

Dear Laura Ripley,
As I read through your story, I’m not sure what made me angrier: what our benefits culture allows you to get away with, or your attitude towards what you get away with.  I sincerely hope that every Lefty who reads this letter will realise that you epitomise the sad and wasteful culture that [...]

“The welfare state is meant to be a safety net, but in some areas it seems to be growing into an extremely comfortable armchair.”
- Matthew Elliot from the Taxpayers’ Alliance, reacting to the news that a family living on benefits in London is being housed in a seven-bedroom home at a cost to taxpayers of £147,000 a [...]

“It wasn’t nice to be accused of fiddling, because I did nothing wrong.  …I just want to show that even elderly or disabled people can do something amazing.”
- Fred Bowers, the break-dancing pensioner, who has had his state benefits cut after performing on ‘Britain’s Got Talent’.  Mr Bowers, 73, amazed the show’s judges and millions of [...]

Dear Alan Johnson,
Desperation is setting in on the Labour benches.  You are so bereft of ideas that you view any initiative, no matter how stupid or wasteful, with a look of excitement.  After the absurdity of schemes such as paying people to give up smoking or eat less, you have now topped many of your [...]

Dear James Purnell,
Seeing as you are quite happy to upset the socialists in the Labour camp with your welfare reforms, I thought that might want to hear about this little story I stumbled across in today’s papers.  If you are genuinely serious about tackling benefit fraud and getting those who are capable of work back [...]

Dear James Clappison,
As Shadow Work and Pensions minister, you tread a fine line every day between holding the government to account and sounding like you subscribe to the Daily Mail.  In some cases, however, I think you can achieve both to good effect and yesterday was a prime example.  There are a lot of myths [...]

Dear Frank Field,
It’s so refreshing listening to an MP whose judgement isn’t clouded by party whips and political allegiances.  You have set your own path when it comes to welfare reform and have relentlessly pursued it, to your enormous credit.  You, more than any other politician I listen to, understands that incentives are the key [...]

Dear Alan Johnson,
You recently described David Cameron as ”likeable”, “articulate” and “a nice guy” - hardly the usual slate of lame insults that Labour throw at the leader of the opposition.  You also mentioned that “I am sure he is genuine about the NHS”, which will certainly separate him from you.  David Cameron believes in personal responsibility and [...]

Dear Ken Clarke,
Much has been made of your pro-EU stance in returning to the Shadow Cabinet.  Expectations are running high in terms of your policies and credibility as our economy continues its march towards new lows every week, if not every day.  Peter Mandelson has already landed himself in trouble with his contentious decision to delay [...]

Dear James Purnell,
It’s not often that I support a Labour policy.  Your recent welfare reforms, designed to bring private and voluntary firms into the mix, was a notable exception to this.  So long as people are looking for work, the government will help support them.  Not only is the reduced role of the government to be welcomed, the [...]

Dear Chris Grayling,
With rumours flying about that you will become Conservative Party Chairman in the not-too-distant future, you can be forgiven for not firing on all cylinders with regard to the upcoming welfare reforms.  You and I are thinking along the same lines on these reforms: bringing in expertise from the private and voluntary sector is absolutely the [...]

I agree that the unemployed should be given a nudge in the right direction when it comes to looking for a job, but I think THIS POLITICIAN takes it a little too far!

Dear James Purnell,
It was very instructive to read your plans to make benefit claimants pick up litter and clean graffiti.  In principle, I’m happy to admit that it makes sense for people to engage in meaningful activities should they be unable to find work.  People often forget that the benefits of work go way beyond merely [...]

Dear David Freud,
At long last – someone in the Labour Party is listening to calls to reform incapacity benefit.  To hear that two-thirds of people on incapacity benefit don’t merit such handouts is an astonishing statistic.
Unfortunately, I find it hard to get enthusiastic about the possibility of Gordon Brown and James Purnell seeing this one [...]