Where the heart is

摘要

Of all the welfare cuts announced by the coalition government, those curbing housing benefit have so far excited the most controversy. Opponents have conjured up a nightmarish vision of a mass exodus from cities as claimants are driven out of dearer areas. The cuts were described as "potentially devastating" by Labour in a parliamentary debate this week. The rhetoric overlooks the fact that private landlords as much as housing-benefit tenants may be the losers, since they will face pressure to lower their rents. And it obscures the bigger question: whether the government can really get a grip on the spiralling expense of this welfare payment.