Last week the Welfare Reform Bill got a stormy reception in the House of Lords, as the Government’s attack on the most vulnerable in our society went on.
 
Of course, the Coalition like to claim that there is no alternative to their savage cuts.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  By cutting too far and too fast, the Tories and the Lib Dems have choked off the economic recovery and sent unemployment soaring.  This means they are having to borrow billions of pounds more than they previously planned.
 
Now, instead of facing up to their responsibilities and changing course, the Coalition are looking around for someone to blame, and have picked on those least able to defend themselves.  Vital sources of financial support – like Housing Benefit or the Disability Living Allowance – are either being capped or scrapped, as the Tories and Lib Dems make other people pay the price of their own incompetence.
 
By teaming up with cross-bench peers like Olympic hero Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, Labour have managed to highlight what the Coalition is up to, and score some important victories in the House of Lords.  Unfortunately, with the Lib Dems largely supporting the Tories, the numbers were always stacked against us.
 
With the Welfare Reform Bill, as my colleague Liam Byrne has said, the Coalition have crossed a line of basic British decency.  Yes, the welfare bill is too high, and needs to be brought down.  But the way to do that is not to take money off people already struggling to survive.  The only real answer is to get Britain working again, get the economy moving again, and help people to help themselves.
 
The only question is: will the Coalition realise the damage it is doing, and change course, before even more lives are ruined?
 
Write to Lyn Brown MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA, email brownl@parliament.uk or call 020 7219 6999