Andy Burnham must order root-and-branch overhaul of the welfare system – it’s no longer fit for its original purpose

Benefits bill a real cause for anxiety THE Chancellor faces a stark choice in next month’s Budget — cut the ballooning benefits bill or inflict yet more taxes on Britain’s strivers. With welfare payments costing £334billion a year, there is plenty of scope for John Healey to make the crucial savings needed to boost defence spending. Andy Burnham must order root-and-branch overhaul of the welfare system Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Healey faces a stark choice in next month’s Budget — cut the benefits bill or inflict yet more taxe Credit: Reuters But Andy Burnham made his favoured direction clear when he declared: “National security can’t come at the expense of social security.” What a bizarre stance from a Prime Minister who claims to want growth in every postcode. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! The only growth so far has been in benefit payments for mild anxiety or ADHD. It’s unsustainable to have a million under-25s not in work, education or training and nearly four million people claiming long-term sickness or disability payments. READ MORE ON ANDY BURNHAM Now we learn that 200,000 families get more in benefits than grafters earn on the average wage of £39,000. While genuine claimants fully deserve state support, it is blindingly clear a substantial number are gaming the system. The welfare system is no longer fit for its original purpose of providing a safety net for those who fall upon hard times. Burnham should order a root-and-branch overhaul, including forcing claimants to undergo regular assessments and cutting the handouts of those deemed fit enough to work. Most read in The Sun Such action would be met with howls of protest from Left-wing MPs who helped place Burnham in No 10. Will the people-pleaser PM have the guts to do it? Asylum joke’s on us BRITAIN’S broken asylum system is making us the laughing stock of the world. We set up the Homes for Ukraine scheme to rescue those fleeing Vladimir Putin’s war lust, not to provide a cosy safe haven for suspected gangland thugs. As we reveal today, Mykola Kubrak is wanted back home for allegedly stashing a terrifying arsenal of rocket launchers and grenades. Yet a judge blocked his extradition because it would upset his girlfriend and violate their right to a family life. The same human rights laws are regularly used to thwart the deportation of dangerous migrants who have arrived illegally on small boats. Donald Trump pointed out that we have “a little problem with immigration”, and Argentina’s president warns it is undermining our civilisation. It is difficult to disagree when human rights laws give rise to such clear mockeries of justice ­— and our nation’s reputation. Comment now