The benefits system is designed around certain assumptions

People too often assume that life is about choices we make, rather than duties we are morally bound to take up.

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I was standing in the queue at the Post Office in Warrington, awaiting my turn. It was a weekday, mid-afternoon, not particularly busy, so only two counters were open but both were occupied. At one, a little querulous old dear argued about the price of Euros, whilst at the other, a thin drooping example of Gen Z waved his iPhone at the clerk.

“Try this one, our kid,” he said in that very distinctive way that some Mancunians speak. It’s a strange nasal patois, half traditional dialect and half something else, possibly created by Oasis binging on mushrooms. He looked like a Liam or a Noel, wore a dirty tracksuit, trainers, and no socks, and his ankles were white and dirty.

“No,” said the assistant after scanning the phone. “Nothing.”

The guy looked at his phone. Swiped. “How about this one then?”

Again nothing.