Labour wants failure to keep big government

Bill English has got to the bottom of Labour’s opposition to social policy changes which will reduce the number of people dependent on the state:

. . . During the debate, Mr English said that if the Government reduced the number of teenagers getting into trouble that might mean fewer social workers were needed and there may be a smaller government department.

“In the Labour Party’s world, that is failure,” he said. . .

Fewer young people in trouble, fewer people on benefits, more people with better education . . .  All the things the government is aiming for will, over time, reduce the number of people who require assistance from the state and therefore enable a reduction in the size of government departments.