George Osborne announces further £4 billion benefit cuts

George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has released plans for a further £4 billion reduction in benefit payments in the UK amid protests from opposition parties and anti-poverty campaigns. This £4 billion reduction plan is on top of the previously announced £11 billion reduction in UK benefits and despite assertions that these benefit payment cuts will only impact those "not interested in finding employment" there is no doubt other areas of the UK population will be hit.

This is a very high risk and potentially high reward strategy by the UK government as it will naturally turn millions of voters against the coalition parties in the short to medium term. If George Osborne is able to push more people back into employment leaving those genuinely dependent on benefits relatively unaffected then he will go down as a very skilled politician and Chancellor. However, if those who have no option but to depend upon benefits see their standard of living fall dramatically in the short to medium term then the coalition government could be in trouble.

Even though many people believe that the UK benefits system has grown out of control it will take a brave Chancellor to tackle this "hot potato".