Workers' Weekly Internet Edition Year 2026 Volume 56 Number 12
Source: http://www.rcpbml.org.uk/wwie-26/ww26-12/ww26-12.htm
Archived: 2026-04-23 17:12
Workers' Weekly Internet Edition Year 2026 Volume 56 Number 12
Volume 56 Number 12, April 18,
2026
ARCHIVE
HOME
JBCENTRE
SUBSCRIBE
Recent
changes to the Benefit System 2026
Government "Rebalancing" of Welfare Benefits Continues to Cause
Serious Hardship
Workers' Weekly Internet Edition
:
Article Index :
Recent changes to the Benefit System 2026:
Government "Rebalancing" of Welfare Benefits
Continues to Cause Serious Hardship
Militarising education:
Arms Industry Given Direct Influence over University
Courses
For Your Reference:
Iran's Declaration of "Historic and Crushing Defeat"
of US and Israel
Recent
changes to the Benefit System 2026
Government "Rebalancing" of Welfare Benefits
Continues to Cause Serious Hardship
On April 5, Prime Minister Keir Starmer issued a statement [1] declaring
that "no matter the global uncertainty, I'm on the side of the British
people". This bombastic utterance seems bizarre when compared with the
content of his statement that "new measures come into force today to
support workers, pensioners, and families with the cost of living". The
highlight of what he had to say was more an admission of the criminality of the
cartel parties in Westminster, for, if the two-child benefit-cap,
"scrapped from today", would "lift nearly half a million
children out of poverty", then why the delay in so doing? He also linked
this measure to "his commitment to defend Britain's interests abroad and
stand up for people at home".
This bogus claim was strained even further beyond belief as Starmer
continued that "taken together, this action leaves the UK better placed to
weather current economic challenges, while working with global partners to
secure de-escalation and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to relieve
pressure on prices globally". As if the measures he announced were somehow
transforming the economic direction of Britain, let alone solving child poverty
in Britain! Linking his claim to the crisis created by the US/Israeli illegal
attack on Iran where Britain has been supporting Israel and the US all along is
shameful. The closing or opening of the Strait of Hormuz and the movement of
global oil prices have little or nothing to do with Starmer and his working
with "global partners". It does not put him on the side of the
British people or the people in Iran who have been brutally attacked.
Even on the two-child benefit cap, what was forgotten in Starmer's statement
was that the government had promised to reverse this nearly two years ago when
coming to power and had now only been forced to do it by a massive rise in
poverty. According to the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) [2], 4 million
children are now living in poverty in Britain rather than the "nearly half
a million" that he claims will be lifted out of poverty by the removal of
the two-child cap. Disability and rights groups have also pointed out that the
overall cap on benefits to claimants introduced by previous governments will
continue to impact particularly on those with larger numbers of children and
higher rents [3].
On the other measures that Keir Starmer said were coming into force on April
5 "to support workers, pensioners, and families with the cost of
living", his rhetoric is also very misleading. The government's own
language is that it is "rebalancing" Universal Credit (UC) and that
it will "improve basic adequacy" whilst addressing "perverse
incentives". But the fact is that the claim that people don't want to work
and prefer to exist on the receipt of UC - which is what is meant by referring
to improving "basic adequacy" and addressing "perverse
incentives" - cannot be sustained when the reality is that working people
are simply being called on to exist in those jobs with poverty wages attached.
The claim is that the "rebalancing" will be "making work
pay".
As the press release of the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) says:
"Incentives that discourage work and trap people on benefits [are] to be
removed via legislation coming into force today." And: "Nearly
£1 billion taxpayer money [is] expected to be saved thanks to measures to
narrow the gap between payments for people on health-related benefits and those
actively seeking work." The reality is that new UC claimants found to have
Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) will now receive a much
lower amount, going from the higher rate of £429.80/month to the lower
rate 217.26/month.
Overall the new measures mean that around 2.25 million families with the
health element will lose about £500/year on average by 2029/30, whilst
around 3.9 million families without the health element gain about
£265/year on average. So the "rebalancing" is literally to take
from the sick/disabled, redistribute a smaller slice to the wider UC population
and the government bank the rest to increasingly spend on Starmer's war economy
to "defend Britain's interests abroad".
The second big "rebalancing" is that of Personal Independence
Payments (PIP), the main welfare benefit for people with serious physical and
mental health disabilities. According to disability and rights groups, this
measure is a subtle but brutal change. It targets people whose difficulties are
spread across several activities (e.g. moderate problems with washing,
dressing, preparing food, communication) rather than concentrated in one. To
get the daily living component, claimants must now score at least four points
in a singly daily living activity, not just eight points in total across
multiple activities.
Along with tax increases on pensioners' income that Starmer claims will
"support" pensioners, these and other measures - including the
abolition of legacy welfare benefits - will remove vital protection for people
with complex needs, often depriving them of housing and other vital benefits.
The Universal Credit which over several governments now has replaced most other
benefits, including sick pay, is being utilised as the central weapon in this
by government to cut benefits and "make work pay".
These actions of Starmer and the government, while the Prime Minister claims
the opposite, are not on the "side of the people". Neither is this to
"defend Britain's interests abroad". What is revealed is that there
is an ongoing restructuring of the welfare system in the direct interests of
the oligopolies and war industries that is no longer hidden. In other words,
the "rebalancing" of welfare benefits continues to cause serious
hardship to the people and benefit the rich. It is imperative that those in
need continue to make their claims on society, and be supported in doing so as
a part of defending the rights of all.
For new benefit rates see:
https://benefitsnews.co.uk/2026-27-benefit-uprates/
Notes
1. Prime Minister: No matter the global uncertainty, I'm on the side of the
British people
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-no-matter-the-global-uncertainty-im-on-the-side-of-the-british-people
2. Poverty: Facts and Figures
https://cpag.org.uk/child-poverty/poverty-facts-and-figures
3. The benefit cap is a welfare policy that limits the amount in state benefits
that an individual household can claim per year. It was introduced by the
Cameron-Clegg coalition government in 2013 as part of that government's
wide-reaching welfare "reform" agenda which included the introduction
of Universal Credit and changes to housing benefit and disability benefits. The
benefit cap primarily affects families with children, high rents, or both. By
2024, two-thirds of the families affected by the cap were single-parent
families, half of whom had a child under five.
Article Index
Militarising
education
Arms
Industry Given Direct Influence over University Courses
Disarm Education - Excel Arms Fair Protest,
Newham
An investigation by Declassified UK has revealed that executives from major
arms companies, including BAE Systems, Leonardo, Thales, and Rolls-Royce, have
been given direct influence over academic courses at British universities.
According to Declassified UK [1], these companies have been invited to sit
on at least 53 university advisory committees across the country. The
investigation states that they are usually asked to provide "strategic
direction" for academic departments, and in some cases are also permitted
to review the progress of research projects.
Using Freedom of Information requests, Declassified UK found that at least
21 universities had asked arms companies to sit on their committees. The
institutions identified include the universities of Southampton, Edinburgh,
Glasgow, Leicester, Cardiff, York, and Queen's University Belfast.
Declassified UK reports that some of the universities openly acknowledge
this arrangement, describing it as a way to "respond to the needs of
employers." The minutes of one committee meeting, cited by the
investigation, show that arms executives were thanked for "ensuring that
our programmes fit industry requirements and demand."
Specific instances of this industry influence were also documented. During a
meeting at the University of Hull, an official from BAE Systems said the
company would "welcome applications" from students for
"industrial placements" and expressed a wish to "develop the
relationship." Separately, a committee at the University of Cardiff
discussed whether "industry" could "teach material to
students," noting that this would be "an appealing prospect for the
School but would also offer good exposure for industry."
The findings from Declassified UK follow an earlier investigation by
openDemocracy, which revealed that British universities had accepted almost
£100 million from defence companies over a five-year period. That
investigation noted that many of the companies involved are also arming Israel.
These findings coincide with mounting pressure on universities over their
ties to the arms trade. In February this year, over 1,500 academics,
researchers, and students signed an open letter demanding that UK universities
cut their links with arms companies [2]. Campaign groups such as Campaign
Against Arms Trade (CAAT) have also called on institutions to "immediately
stop accepting funding from arms companies."
Notes
1. Arms industry given direct influence over university courses - Declassified
UK, April 8, 2026
https://www.declassifieduk.org/arms-industry-given-direct-influence-over-university-courses/
2. Universities face backlash over £2.5bn in defence partnerships as
academics and students demand transparency and divestment, AOAV, February 26
2026
https://aoav.org.uk/2026/universities-face-backlash-over-2-5bn-in-defence-partnerships-as-academics-and-students-demand-transparency-and-divestment/
Article Index
For Your
Reference
Iran's
Declaration of "Historic and Crushing Defeat" of US and Israel
Human chain around power plant at Shahid Rajaei, Iran,
April 26 2026 - Photo: Fars
On April 8, Iran declared a "historic and crushing defeat" of the
United States and the Israeli regime after 40 days of war. "Iran has
achieved a great victory and has forced criminal America to accept its own
10-point proposal," the statement issued by Iran's Supreme National
Security Council read. "Iran and the Resistance have almost completely
destroyed the American military machine in the region," it stated.
"They have inflicted crushing and deep blows on the vast infrastructure
and capabilities that the enemy had built and deployed around the region over
many years for this war against Iran."
"We congratulate all the people of Iran on this victory," the
statement read, "and emphasise that until the details of this victory are
finalised, there remains a need for the resilience and prudence of officials
and the preservation of unity and solidarity among the people of Iran."
According to the statement, the United States had agreed to a 10-point
proposal that fundamentally committed it to:
- No new aggression against Iran
- Continued Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz
- Acceptance of enrichment
- Removal of all primary sanctions
- Removal of all secondary sanctions
- Termination of all UN Security Council resolutions
- Termination of all resolutions from the International Atomic Energy
Agency's Board of Governors
- Payment of compensation to Iran
- Withdrawal of US combat forces from the region
- Cessation of war on all fronts, including against the heroic Islamic
Resistance of Lebanon
For nearly 40 days Iranians had taken to the streets every night to defend
the Islamic Revolution in defiance of US/Israeli savage bombardment. During the
hours before the announcement of the ceasefire agreement, following US
President Donald Trump's psychopathic threats to erase Iranian civilisation,
crowds were noticeably larger. Demonstrators were condemning US/Israeli
attacks, thanking the armed forces for their missile responses and demanding
continued retaliation against the aggressors.
Israeli Media Admits Defeat
According to Israel's
Maariv
newspaper, the US/Israeli war ended in a
"decisive victory for Iran", with both the US and Israel conceding to
a "strategic surrender" and retreating from the battlefield. The
report underscored the "massive defeat" of the US and Israeli forces,
which would carry long-term consequences, particularly in Lebanon, and would
bolster Iran's regional position in the Persian Gulf for years to come. The
Israeli newspaper also emphasised that Iran has imposed a deal largely of its
own design on the US, rejecting Trump's proposal.
Article Index
Receive Workers'
Weekly E-mail Edition:
It is free to
subscribe to the e-mail edition
We encourage all those who support the work of RCPB(ML) to also support it
financially:
Donate to
RCPB(ML)
WW Internet
RSS Feed
Workers' Weekly
is the weekly on
line newspaper of the
Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist)
Website:
http://www.rcpbml.org.uk
E-mail:
office@rcpbml.org.uk
170, Wandsworth Road, London, SW8 2LA.
Phone: 020 7627 0599:
RCPB(ML) Home Page
Workers' Weekly Online
Archive
Volume 56 Number 12, April 18,
2026
ARCHIVE
HOME
JBCENTRE
SUBSCRIBE
Recent
changes to the Benefit System 2026
Government "Rebalancing" of Welfare Benefits Continues to Cause
Serious Hardship
Workers' Weekly Internet Edition
:
Article Index :
Recent changes to the Benefit System 2026:
Government "Rebalancing" of Welfare Benefits
Continues to Cause Serious Hardship
Militarising education:
Arms Industry Given Direct Influence over University
Courses
For Your Reference:
Iran's Declaration of "Historic and Crushing Defeat"
of US and Israel
Recent
changes to the Benefit System 2026
Government "Rebalancing" of Welfare Benefits
Continues to Cause Serious Hardship
On April 5, Prime Minister Keir Starmer issued a statement [1] declaring
that "no matter the global uncertainty, I'm on the side of the British
people". This bombastic utterance seems bizarre when compared with the
content of his statement that "new measures come into force today to
support workers, pensioners, and families with the cost of living". The
highlight of what he had to say was more an admission of the criminality of the
cartel parties in Westminster, for, if the two-child benefit-cap,
"scrapped from today", would "lift nearly half a million
children out of poverty", then why the delay in so doing? He also linked
this measure to "his commitment to defend Britain's interests abroad and
stand up for people at home".
This bogus claim was strained even further beyond belief as Starmer
continued that "taken together, this action leaves the UK better placed to
weather current economic challenges, while working with global partners to
secure de-escalation and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to relieve
pressure on prices globally". As if the measures he announced were somehow
transforming the economic direction of Britain, let alone solving child poverty
in Britain! Linking his claim to the crisis created by the US/Israeli illegal
attack on Iran where Britain has been supporting Israel and the US all along is
shameful. The closing or opening of the Strait of Hormuz and the movement of
global oil prices have little or nothing to do with Starmer and his working
with "global partners". It does not put him on the side of the
British people or the people in Iran who have been brutally attacked.
Even on the two-child benefit cap, what was forgotten in Starmer's statement
was that the government had promised to reverse this nearly two years ago when
coming to power and had now only been forced to do it by a massive rise in
poverty. According to the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) [2], 4 million
children are now living in poverty in Britain rather than the "nearly half
a million" that he claims will be lifted out of poverty by the removal of
the two-child cap. Disability and rights groups have also pointed out that the
overall cap on benefits to claimants introduced by previous governments will
continue to impact particularly on those with larger numbers of children and
higher rents [3].
On the other measures that Keir Starmer said were coming into force on April
5 "to support workers, pensioners, and families with the cost of
living", his rhetoric is also very misleading. The government's own
language is that it is "rebalancing" Universal Credit (UC) and that
it will "improve basic adequacy" whilst addressing "perverse
incentives". But the fact is that the claim that people don't want to work
and prefer to exist on the receipt of UC - which is what is meant by referring
to improving "basic adequacy" and addressing "perverse
incentives" - cannot be sustained when the reality is that working people
are simply being called on to exist in those jobs with poverty wages attached.
The claim is that the "rebalancing" will be "making work
pay".
As the press release of the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) says:
"Incentives that discourage work and trap people on benefits [are] to be
removed via legislation coming into force today." And: "Nearly
£1 billion taxpayer money [is] expected to be saved thanks to measures to
narrow the gap between payments for people on health-related benefits and those
actively seeking work." The reality is that new UC claimants found to have
Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) will now receive a much
lower amount, going from the higher rate of £429.80/month to the lower
rate 217.26/month.
Overall the new measures mean that around 2.25 million families with the
health element will lose about £500/year on average by 2029/30, whilst
around 3.9 million families without the health element gain about
£265/year on average. So the "rebalancing" is literally to take
from the sick/disabled, redistribute a smaller slice to the wider UC population
and the government bank the rest to increasingly spend on Starmer's war economy
to "defend Britain's interests abroad".
The second big "rebalancing" is that of Personal Independence
Payments (PIP), the main welfare benefit for people with serious physical and
mental health disabilities. According to disability and rights groups, this
measure is a subtle but brutal change. It targets people whose difficulties are
spread across several activities (e.g. moderate problems with washing,
dressing, preparing food, communication) rather than concentrated in one. To
get the daily living component, claimants must now score at least four points
in a singly daily living activity, not just eight points in total across
multiple activities.
Along with tax increases on pensioners' income that Starmer claims will
"support" pensioners, these and other measures - including the
abolition of legacy welfare benefits - will remove vital protection for people
with complex needs, often depriving them of housing and other vital benefits.
The Universal Credit which over several governments now has replaced most other
benefits, including sick pay, is being utilised as the central weapon in this
by government to cut benefits and "make work pay".
These actions of Starmer and the government, while the Prime Minister claims
the opposite, are not on the "side of the people". Neither is this to
"defend Britain's interests abroad". What is revealed is that there
is an ongoing restructuring of the welfare system in the direct interests of
the oligopolies and war industries that is no longer hidden. In other words,
the "rebalancing" of welfare benefits continues to cause serious
hardship to the people and benefit the rich. It is imperative that those in
need continue to make their claims on society, and be supported in doing so as
a part of defending the rights of all.
For new benefit rates see:
https://benefitsnews.co.uk/2026-27-benefit-uprates/
Notes
1. Prime Minister: No matter the global uncertainty, I'm on the side of the
British people
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-no-matter-the-global-uncertainty-im-on-the-side-of-the-british-people
2. Poverty: Facts and Figures
https://cpag.org.uk/child-poverty/poverty-facts-and-figures
3. The benefit cap is a welfare policy that limits the amount in state benefits
that an individual household can claim per year. It was introduced by the
Cameron-Clegg coalition government in 2013 as part of that government's
wide-reaching welfare "reform" agenda which included the introduction
of Universal Credit and changes to housing benefit and disability benefits. The
benefit cap primarily affects families with children, high rents, or both. By
2024, two-thirds of the families affected by the cap were single-parent
families, half of whom had a child under five.
Article Index
Militarising
education
Arms
Industry Given Direct Influence over University Courses
Disarm Education - Excel Arms Fair Protest,
Newham
An investigation by Declassified UK has revealed that executives from major
arms companies, including BAE Systems, Leonardo, Thales, and Rolls-Royce, have
been given direct influence over academic courses at British universities.
According to Declassified UK [1], these companies have been invited to sit
on at least 53 university advisory committees across the country. The
investigation states that they are usually asked to provide "strategic
direction" for academic departments, and in some cases are also permitted
to review the progress of research projects.
Using Freedom of Information requests, Declassified UK found that at least
21 universities had asked arms companies to sit on their committees. The
institutions identified include the universities of Southampton, Edinburgh,
Glasgow, Leicester, Cardiff, York, and Queen's University Belfast.
Declassified UK reports that some of the universities openly acknowledge
this arrangement, describing it as a way to "respond to the needs of
employers." The minutes of one committee meeting, cited by the
investigation, show that arms executives were thanked for "ensuring that
our programmes fit industry requirements and demand."
Specific instances of this industry influence were also documented. During a
meeting at the University of Hull, an official from BAE Systems said the
company would "welcome applications" from students for
"industrial placements" and expressed a wish to "develop the
relationship." Separately, a committee at the University of Cardiff
discussed whether "industry" could "teach material to
students," noting that this would be "an appealing prospect for the
School but would also offer good exposure for industry."
The findings from Declassified UK follow an earlier investigation by
openDemocracy, which revealed that British universities had accepted almost
£100 million from defence companies over a five-year period. That
investigation noted that many of the companies involved are also arming Israel.
These findings coincide with mounting pressure on universities over their
ties to the arms trade. In February this year, over 1,500 academics,
researchers, and students signed an open letter demanding that UK universities
cut their links with arms companies [2]. Campaign groups such as Campaign
Against Arms Trade (CAAT) have also called on institutions to "immediately
stop accepting funding from arms companies."
Notes
1. Arms industry given direct influence over university courses - Declassified
UK, April 8, 2026
https://www.declassifieduk.org/arms-industry-given-direct-influence-over-university-courses/
2. Universities face backlash over £2.5bn in defence partnerships as
academics and students demand transparency and divestment, AOAV, February 26
2026
https://aoav.org.uk/2026/universities-face-backlash-over-2-5bn-in-defence-partnerships-as-academics-and-students-demand-transparency-and-divestment/
Article Index
For Your
Reference
Iran's
Declaration of "Historic and Crushing Defeat" of US and Israel
Human chain around power plant at Shahid Rajaei, Iran,
April 26 2026 - Photo: Fars
On April 8, Iran declared a "historic and crushing defeat" of the
United States and the Israeli regime after 40 days of war. "Iran has
achieved a great victory and has forced criminal America to accept its own
10-point proposal," the statement issued by Iran's Supreme National
Security Council read. "Iran and the Resistance have almost completely
destroyed the American military machine in the region," it stated.
"They have inflicted crushing and deep blows on the vast infrastructure
and capabilities that the enemy had built and deployed around the region over
many years for this war against Iran."
"We congratulate all the people of Iran on this victory," the
statement read, "and emphasise that until the details of this victory are
finalised, there remains a need for the resilience and prudence of officials
and the preservation of unity and solidarity among the people of Iran."
According to the statement, the United States had agreed to a 10-point
proposal that fundamentally committed it to:
- No new aggression against Iran
- Continued Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz
- Acceptance of enrichment
- Removal of all primary sanctions
- Removal of all secondary sanctions
- Termination of all UN Security Council resolutions
- Termination of all resolutions from the International Atomic Energy
Agency's Board of Governors
- Payment of compensation to Iran
- Withdrawal of US combat forces from the region
- Cessation of war on all fronts, including against the heroic Islamic
Resistance of Lebanon
For nearly 40 days Iranians had taken to the streets every night to defend
the Islamic Revolution in defiance of US/Israeli savage bombardment. During the
hours before the announcement of the ceasefire agreement, following US
President Donald Trump's psychopathic threats to erase Iranian civilisation,
crowds were noticeably larger. Demonstrators were condemning US/Israeli
attacks, thanking the armed forces for their missile responses and demanding
continued retaliation against the aggressors.
Israeli Media Admits Defeat
According to Israel's
Maariv
newspaper, the US/Israeli war ended in a
"decisive victory for Iran", with both the US and Israel conceding to
a "strategic surrender" and retreating from the battlefield. The
report underscored the "massive defeat" of the US and Israeli forces,
which would carry long-term consequences, particularly in Lebanon, and would
bolster Iran's regional position in the Persian Gulf for years to come. The
Israeli newspaper also emphasised that Iran has imposed a deal largely of its
own design on the US, rejecting Trump's proposal.
Article Index
Receive Workers'
Weekly E-mail Edition:
It is free to
subscribe to the e-mail edition
We encourage all those who support the work of RCPB(ML) to also support it
financially:
Donate to
RCPB(ML)
WW Internet
RSS Feed
Workers' Weekly
is the weekly on
line newspaper of the
Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist)
Website:
http://www.rcpbml.org.uk
E-mail:
office@rcpbml.org.uk
170, Wandsworth Road, London, SW8 2LA.
Phone: 020 7627 0599:
RCPB(ML) Home Page
Workers' Weekly Online
Archive