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Minister defends welfare reforms, saying the system is currently 'not sustainable or fair'
Liz Kendall has defended welfare reforms, and said that "no responsible Labour government" could leave the system unchanged.
The work and pensions secretary has been addressing people at the Royal Institution in London this morning.
She said: "No responsible Labour government can resile from taking decisions because they are too difficult, because this is not good enough for the people we came into politics to serve.
"So, we will reform the welfare state."
Kendall highlighted how welfare was created when life expectancy was 65, whereas now it is around 80.
"One in seven babies born today is likely to live to 100", she said.
"Back then, disability was the exception, now one in four of us self-reports as disabled."
She went on: "The number of people on the health top up of universal credit is set to rise by 50% to 3 million by the end of the decade, and the number of people on personal independence payment (PIP) is set to more than double to 4.3 million.
"There are now 1,000 new PIP awards every single day. That's the equivalent of adding a city the size of Leicester every single year," she added.
Populist politics won't deliver the change people want
Kendall said the current system "is not sustainable and fair" for taxpayers, and said reform is needed so it "lasts for generations to come".
She added that she is "listening carefully to all the points people raise" and that she is aware of "the concerns raised about the proposals".
Watch: Beth Rigby explains welfare reforms made earlier this year
Kendall also pointed out that 90% of those claiming PIP when the changes come into effect in November next year will "not be affected by the end of the parliament".
Defending the reforms, Kendall also hit out at "populist politics".
She said: "People in this country rightly demand change, but populist politics, the politics of division and easy but empty solutions won't deliver the change people are crying out for.
"They need real hope, built on real solutions. And that is what this Labour government is doing."
She concluded that change "of this scale isn't easy, but it is possible".
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