THE Conservatives have come up with some right duff policies in their time, but none more destructive than the Universal Credit (UC).

This so-called revolutionary welfare reform had an original date for completion – October last year. Now pushed back until 2023, only ten per cent of claimants are enrolled on it, all easy to manage claims that can be processed the old fashioned way using pen and paper.

So no need for a billion pound computer system then. UC is an absolute sham, shockingly over budget, costing much more than the old system did.

It’s impossible to navigate digitally, causes poverty and pushes people into lousy low paid jobs. It also guarantees anyone claiming it gets at least one whack with the Tory sanction stick.

Original architect Iain Duncan Smith broke the 100m sprint record when the going got tough. He should be truly ashamed of himself.

In the Tories’ eyes UC is working as well as it should – hard to claim and virtually impossible to keep.

Stephen Dixon, Redcar.