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Hyde MP makes Andrew Marr TV debut

28/01/2008

Stalybridge and Hyde MP James Purnell made his debut on BBC One's The Andrew Marr Show on Sunday as the new work and pensions secretary.

Last week, the prime minister conducted a cabinet reshuffle after it was announced that Peter Hain had resigned following the Electoral Commission's decision to ask police to investigate donations.

In a lengthy interview, Mr Purnell, who won the Manchester seat in the 2001 election, told the programme that the government is still "excited" about its reform agenda. He also played down claims that the Hain resignation was a setback for Gordon Brown.

He went on to unveil a "major programme of reform" which involves separating people who are unable to work from people who can as part of a new drive to reduce invalidity benefits.

"What we're bringing in is a new benefit which is based on what people can do," he stated.

"We're going to get a million people off incapacity benefit into work [and] 300,000 more lone parents into work."

He also said that Britain is enjoying a full employment - a comment that was picked up by the New Statesman magazine, which accused Mr Purnell of deceiving himself.

The magazine drew attention to the government's own figures that show one in five of the working population in Manchester, Newcastle and Birmingham are on unemployment benefits, with the number rising to one in four in Glasgow and Liverpool.