As certainly as the moon pulls on the tides(如同月亮牵引潮汐般确定), Labour governments improve the lives of the poorest children. Just as surely, Conservative governments pull back and reverse the good done. Here we go again: despite the social devastation(毁灭，灾难) caused by George Osborne’s cuts(乔治·奥斯本的福利削减) last time, Kemi Badenoch announces that she wants to impose cuts to universal credit(通用福利金) for the poorest if she gets the chance.
正如月亮必定牵引潮汐，工党政府总会改善最贫困儿童的生活。同样确定的是，保守党政府总会收回成命，逆转已有的善政。这一幕又要重演了：尽管上次乔治·奥斯本的削减造成了社会灾难，凯米·巴德诺赫仍宣布，一旦有机会，她就要削减最贫困人群的通用福利金。
She doesn’t do subtle, none of Iain Duncan Smith’s cruel-to-be-kind routine, but goes straight for populist rabble-rousing, stirring up fact-free contempt for anyone on benefits, with a proposed ban on buying cigarettes and alcohol, or gambling, with benefit money.(她从不玩含蓄，不像伊恩·邓肯·史密斯那样搞“仁慈的残酷”那一套，而是直接煽动民粹情绪，激起对领福利者的毫无根据的蔑视，还提议禁止用福利金购买烟酒或赌博。) Welfare, she says, must not be “a lifestyle choice for those who can’t be bothered”. As with all crude rightwing populism, the harm she does spreads hatred of the weak. In this most unequal country, it encourages bullies to kick downwards, stifling(扼杀，压制) more generous human instincts.
她从不玩含蓄，不像伊恩·邓肯·史密斯那样搞“仁慈的残酷”那一套，而是直接煽动民粹情绪，激起对领福利者的毫无根据的蔑视，还提议禁止用福利金购买烟酒或赌博。她说，福利绝不能成为“那些懒得动的人的 lifestyle choice”。与所有粗鄙的右翼民粹主义一样，她造成的伤害扩散了对弱者的仇恨。在这个最不平等的国家里，这鼓励了恃强凌弱者的向下踢打，扼杀了更慷慨的人性本能。
Here’s how the pendulum swings(钟摆摆动): New Labour lifted nearly a million children out of poverty and set up 3,500 Sure Start(英国工党政府推出的儿童早期教育项目) centres, which supported families from birth. David Cameron and Osborne swept all that away with billions of pounds in benefit cuts directed at families, tipping more children into food-bank poverty.(大卫·卡梅伦和奥斯本则通过针对家庭的数十亿英镑福利削减，将这一切一扫而空，使更多儿童陷入依赖食品银行的贫困。)
钟摆就是这样摆动的：新工党让近百万儿童脱贫，并建立了3500个“稳健起步”中心，从孩子出生起就支持家庭。大卫·卡梅伦和奥斯本则通过针对家庭的数十亿英镑福利削减，将这一切一扫而空，使更多儿童陷入依赖食品银行的贫困。