In my career I have done many jobs, from cleaning to patrolling car parks, managing teams across multiple countries to working on a factory floor. With each role I have met new people, faced unexpected challenges and learned a lot about myself. I say this because I profoundly disagree with the narrative that ‘work’ is somehow a bad thing. It’s beneficial to the individuals and for society too. Without the millions of hard working people across the UK, there would be no taxes raised to fund any of our public services.

Where people cannot work due to a disability, the welfare system rightly supports them but we should also not be writing people off when the reason for not working is due to barriers in the workplace or a lack of opportunity.

The DWP announced a £2.5 billion Back to Work Plan to assist one million people to break down barriers to work. Currently, we spend more on benefits than our core schools’ budget or on policing. That’s unfair to those who want to work and those who already do.

It is also unfair for people who are fit and able to work but refuse to do so. They are accepting hard-working taxpayers' money through benefits, particularly when the job market is buoyant.

People who can work should work, and those who have had barriers to doing so will see them lifted with these reforms. Ultimately these changes will deliver a welfare system that’s compassionate, fair and fit for the future.

  • Dean Russell is the Conservative MP for Watford