Shadow DWP minister Danny Kruger has defected from the Conservative party to join Reform UK, possibly adding to the party’s store of benefits knowledge, but probably not to its supply of compassion for claimants.  In fact, Kruger considers that Reform are far too generous when it comes to benefits.

Kruger’s defection comes too late for him to become the Reform spokesperson on welfare benefits, that job having very recently been given to Lee Anderson.

However, Kruger will no doubt be contributing to Reform’s future policy on benefits. 

As an Eton, Edinburgh and Oxford educated evangelical Christian son of South African parents - property developer Rayne Kruger and Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith – Kruger’s formative years were very different to the impoverished start of Lee Anderson.

And as a leader writer for the Telegraph and speech writer for David Cameron, Kruger’s working life was also rather different to that of former coal miner Anderson.

But they will no doubt bond over their shared unhappiness at the number of people receiving PIP for mental health conditions, in particular.

As Anderson assured us earlier this month:

“It’s become fashionable now to have mental health problems, to have your own counsellor, to go for therapy, to have anxiety attacks, to get down to the local benefit centre and sign on for PIP or ESA.”

Kruger aims for a more statistics based assault on claimants, but the sentiment is similar:

“ . . . the incidence of disability in our society is rising by 17% while benefit claims are rising by 34%. For some of the less severe mental health claims, it is far worse. In January 2020, there were 7,000 claims for people with anxiety disorders; this year, there are 31,000. In January 2020, there were 155,000 claims for anxiety and depressive disorders mixed; now there are 365,000.”

And Motability for claimants with mental health conditions is a particular sore point for Kruger:

“One area where the Government do not seem to be looking for savings is in the Motability scheme. It was supposed to help physically disabled people get around, but now we have 100,000 new people a year joining the scheme, many of them not physically disabled at all.”

And again earlier this month:

“I am sorry to hear that there are still no plans to reduce spending on personal independence payments.  . . .  Given that veto on cuts to PIP, I implore him again to consider the benefits to which PIP is a gateway, such as Motability, disability premiums, council tax discounts and blue badges. Will he promise at least that those entitlements could come down?”

However, Kruger has not always been a fan of Reform’s benefits plans, which he considered far too generous.  Just a couple of months ago he was complaining that:

“I do quite like the Reform party and I agree with its Members on lots of things, but there is a problem: they would spend money like drunken sailors. I can see what is happening and I am very worried about it—they will end up in an electoral pact with the Liberal Democrats with a joint ticket to protect welfare spending.”

No doubt, Kruger will do what he can to toughen up Reform’s stance on benefits. 

And there is one thing that definitely unites him with the Reform family – a dislike of foreigners claiming benefits, as he explained to DWP minister Stephen Timms when debating the Timms review of PIP:

“I hope that the Minister does not plan to co-produce his plans with foreign nationals—although, knowing Labour lawyers, I expect they will say that the European convention on human rights demands that they do just that. Does he think that subsidising more and more foreign nationals is what the British social security system is for? If not, will he restrict sickness benefits to British nationals only, as we have argued for?”

Reform UK and Danny Kruger seems to be a match made in heaven.

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  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    · 13 days ago
    It has become obvious that any vote decision for the next General election Will need great thought As no one party holds all the answers People will need to vote with the party that best aligns with their views and what is important to them While holding their nose for the less palatable  stuff  Parties can be wide churches and have strange bed fellows 
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  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    · 18 days ago
    Well, it appears that "Your Party" (stupid name, I might add) has seemingly self-destructed.  not being able to agree on the launch date was bad enough, but now it seems that the people helming it are at each other's throats.  Corbyn's ideas might appeal, just as they did ten years ago, but he really struggles to organised a p*** up in a brewery.   So, the alternate is the Green, where I at least feel Zack Polanski has the power and ability to make some headway.  It remains to be seen if he actually does. 
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      · 16 days ago
      @rookie Blankety blank springs to mind then. 
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      · 18 days ago
      @Matt It's difficult.  FPTP also kept Reform out in many constituencies last election.
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      · 18 days ago
      @SLB
      If YP is going to fizzle out - and most new parties under FPTP do - then it's probably better if it happens quickly. The time to do it really should have been when Corbyn was kicked out of Labour, but they didn't. It would almost certainly be very similar to the Greens in terms of policy anyway, so it would be better to have a single party around which the left wing vote can unite. Polanski has just won the leadership by a huge margin, the party doesn't seem to have the ideological splits of YP (having landlord MPs in YP really doesn't bode well), and crucially it already has the infrastructure required for a national party already in place, which YP doesn't. 

      Even if YP does keep going, they're probably going to find that Polanski has stolen a march on them. He's doing well at getting himself heard compared to the previous leaders while YP are squabbling among themselves and making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
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      · 18 days ago
      @SLB .May as well call it now - 'Your Party' has blown it already. It will do blank all. Blank name, blank idea, may as well be called the Blank Party. If we're clutching at that straw we're already blanked.
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      · 18 days ago
      @SLB Unlikely given we have FPTP as the voting system.  I wonder, if we do have a very hung Parliament after the next GE, whether PR will be introduced. I was never a fan when I was younger but now consider it essential for the sake of democracy.  
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    · 19 days ago
    So much for alternative parties. The new left wing party already starting to disagree it was on the news. Sad as it is seen as an alternative to supporting for the rights of  disabled people. Hope they sort things out. 
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    · 19 days ago
    I see the DT is not happy about the lack of welfare reform....https://share.google/guhpLXiBYpUT8jkN5
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      · 16 days ago
      @Matt Not surprised to see that Pollard is the author. He's always been a vile right wing loon.
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      · 18 days ago
      @Matt God, the sheer level of outrage over the idea of not being able to kick disabled people in the face.

      Allow me to get out the world’s smallest violin. 
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    · 20 days ago
    Definitely voting lib dems next vote 
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    · 20 days ago
    Looking at the lack of progress so far - Timms hasn't even got the committees sorted, or issues round NDAs etc - pip reform is going to take a looooong time. Can't see it happening in this parliamrnent.
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      · 20 days ago
      @keepingitreal True the Gravy train will keep rolling for another 4 years until Farage gets in.
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    · 20 days ago
    I want to see defection should be banned by Election Law! If MPs want to defection to other party, then it must call up by election default by law. I am sick of tired with MPs ignoring General Election chosen my peoples. It's have to STOP RIGHT NOW! BRING IN NEW LAW!
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      · 20 days ago
      @Phil Hi Phil. I totally agree this cannot go on, if they risked losing the seat they would think twice,constituents vote for a party not just the mps some need to grow-up
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      · 20 days ago
      @Phil the problem is that politicians make the law....and they're not likely to vote for their ejection from a very cushy life and future earnings.  Agree with your sentiments though.
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    · 21 days ago
    Kruger is quite obviously a nonentity… but a dangerous one if let anywhere the levers of power. Slimy. 
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    · 21 days ago
    I see another Tory has defected to Reform. There won't be a bye-election.  But at this rate it's looking like it'll be a straight fight between Reform and Labour at the next GE for who is the largest party. The 2030's are going to be very grim (just as I hit retirement age!)
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      · 19 days ago
      @Hilde Could be green lib dem and corbyns party or the alternative is reform and Tories.
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      · 19 days ago
      @RookiesUncle And the Greens..give them time. they will get this together 
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      · 20 days ago
      @Matt It will be between Reform and Corbyns new party, no ones going to vote Labour.
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    · 21 days ago
    It’s just gonna be the Tory’s all over again a bunch of privileged millionaires 
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      · 16 days ago
      @beef dinner You'll find the vast majority of MPs are millionaires in terms of overall assets. Ivory towers all of them really.  
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    · 21 days ago
    With the news today of a proposal to replace PIP with an 'additional costs of disability' payment, I am getting daily more scared that I will never reach retirement age. As someone with severe MH problems but no clear diagnosis (all the psychiatrist will say is I fit the criteria for CPTSD and probable neurodivergence) my head is firmly on the chopping block. I am not eligible for Motobility despite being housebound without a car, but I do get EDL which helps me pay for my 20 yr old car and my dog  without whom I would be completely alone. I don't understand how they expect me to survive, but maybe that's the point - they don't. 
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      · 19 days ago
      @Ivan The point I was trying to make is that at no point did this government suggest they have plans to replace pip with a new (tougher) to qualify award.

      For one thing introducing a new system costs a fortune (I don’t think even this gov is that dumb)

      The indication/educated guesstimate is that the dwp want to make it harder for prospective claimants to qualify for a pip award - their first attempt in doing so via the 4pt had to be shelved (temporarily) due to public and backbencher pressure. - however the timms review could result in trying again with the 4pt rule but more likely is the pip activities and descriptors being rewritten or removed/replaced to exclude certain conditions and reduce success rates.

      The one thing I’ll mention is that ministers have tired to rewrite disability welfare criteria before but upper tribunal courts can still overrule dwp rules/ministers and make a activity descriptors more inclusive (for example the mm vs sec of state for dwp - many neurodivergent claimants benefited from backpay on that the past couple of years)
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      · 19 days ago
      @D Reported on Rightsnet Now a couple of days ago, I can't get to it now. Will see if I can find another source 
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      · 20 days ago
      @D Indeed I didn't mean to panic folk. People are of course free to read or ignore & dismiss accordingly. I think many stories here are likely to be scare-mongering to a degree & others have said as much. 

      From what I've read via Google, it's all up in the air still &, indeed, that Indy article was written in February when the story first broke, so not updated. However, whatever the replacement for PIP will end up being called, the DWP have since stated that any changes won't happen before late 2026. This suggests that change is certainly coming, be it for better (in some cases), or worse (for others). IMO, not a bad thing being prepared for various outcomes. But that's me. 
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    · 21 days ago
    I'm starting to wonder why have different party's, when these career politicians just go from 1 party to another and what about the local people who voted them in. When each jump ship.... there constituents should be asked to vote again, this would stop this toxic behaviour if they thought there actual constituents might vote them out. Surely if you voted conservative then ended up Labour or Reform then the locals should have a say.... not just the career Mp,s 
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      · 19 days ago
      @RookiesUncle After the ‘your party’ scandal today the Corbyn comeback party may be as good as doa. 

      (It’s unclear if SB latest jump the gun in opening donations via membership is actually fraud - apparently £1million was given before Corbyn flagged it up as not official and now ppl who signed up don’t know what’s happened to their money)

      It’s not a good look (even farage and reform haven’t gotten into this specific situation……..yet)
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      · 21 days ago
      @Matt The choice will be Farage or Corbyn.
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      · 21 days ago
      @Matt I'll correct the grammar! 1, I do believe people are right that we are ruled by a uni-party. 2, I'm NOT sure I'll be voting in the next GE as the choices are from the dire to the catastrophic.  Does anyone have any info about this proposal to abolish PIP and have it replaced with additional costs of disability payment? Sounds suspiciously similar to the receipts idea that Sunak came up with.
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      · 21 days ago
      @Fiona The point I'm making is why no bi-elections.... to see if the people who voted you in, agree they want a different party from who they voted for running the area,why can the MP just up and decide for everyone when it's not what was advertised. The MP changing party should be added to the list to trigger a bi-election this might stop this jumping ship, if they were worried about losing their seat.   They are just hedging there bets and the constituents all suffer.
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      · 21 days ago
      @Fiona That would require a constitutional reform! Wait a minute we don't have a written one!
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