Benefits cap cut will see more families 'not quite managing'

It's not clear how this differs from Ed Miliband's 2011 "squeezed middle", but it sounds like largely the same group. The education green paper talks of "children of people on modest incomes who do not qualify [for benefits such as free school meals], but who are nevertheless just about managing". Now, I really wouldn't want to suggest that these families haven't had a tough time over the past few years, with earnings trailing inflation, and new jobs often part of the "gig economy", with low pay, zero-hours contracts and little security.

The families who worry me most though are those who are below even this line, and have the support of state benefits, sometimes in work and sometimes not, and often lone parents with small children. These are families who have to economise on every single aspect of their lives. They are to be found all across the country, from high-wage high-cost areas such as London to areas of high unemployment such as the North East. There are probably a few "benefit scroungers" who wouldn't want to work even if work were available, but, I believe, very few.