Conservatives float two-tier benefits system in private survey in Labour marginals

People who are unemployed for long periods could receive less in benefits than those who have worked and then lost their jobs, according to plans being considered by the Conservatives.

 

The proposal for a two-tier benefits system is one of a number of Conservative policy ideas in a survey sent to members of the public in marginal seats held by Labour.

Some of the questions appear to set out possible Tory thinking on the party’s approach to future benefits reform going into the next general election, which is now less than two years away.

One questioned whether benefit payments should be linked to the amount of income tax or national insurance a person has paid.

The next questions suggest a two-tier benefits system, by asking whether people should get a different payments if they had only just lost their jobs.