The work and pensions secretary promises today that Labour will stop the blame culture directed at unemployed people and would not repeat the Tories' "salami slicing" of the benefits bill, warning that rising welfare spending is unsustainable.In her first interview with a newspaper since taking the position, Liz Kendall warned that the number of individuals who are economically inactive already exceeds the population of London and that a comprehensive reform was necessary to solve a "broken" back-to-work system. She called her job "one of the biggest challenges the country faces" and stated that she would be implementing significant changes to a system that was not meeting the needs of enough of the nearly record 2.8 million people who were now out of work.

She charged some Conservative MPs with discriminating against those in need of assistance by voicing anti-welfare remarks. Kendall declared that she would not make reform "merely about cuts and blame" in response to Labour's growing concerns that welfare would be cut as part of chancellor Rachel Reeves' maiden budget this autumn."We can do something about it," she continued, citing significant anticipated increases in welfare spending. "I do not think it's sustainable when you're seeing those levels of increases," she said. She condemned the policies of the previous administration, calling them "divisive rhetoric that blames people and doesn't support them" in addition to "salami slicing cuts."

Never before have so many people been written off. The most economic inactivity occurred during the last parliament on record. It is up to us to correct this. But significant improvements and reforms will be required. We are on your side, even if I know that many are concerned about this. We won't abandon you or place the blame on you. We do not play about with our responsibilities. To provide you with the assistance you require to create a better life, we will sacrifice everything.

Kendall plans to reform jobcentres, freeing them from benefit monitoring and linking them with the NHS to assist those struggling with health issues. She also commits to reviewing universal credit, tackling economic inactivity, and a "youth guarantee" for 18-21-year-olds. Details will be revealed in a white paper in autumn.