[Margaret Pilkington]

No. I am not missing the point at all.(and nowhere have I implied that you are trying to be clever) I appreciate that sanctions will cause hardship....but I realise that the welfare system is unable to cope with all those who expect to be able to draw from it.....I also realise that something has to be done.
All options will have some degree of hardship for those who are targetted.
Many of the problems exist because no single party has had the guts to do something radical with the benefits system...they have just tinkered around the edges.
It hasn't helped that people who have migrated here from European countries have been able to claim benefits for which they have paid nothing...that benefits go out of the country, back to their country of origin. Where the money buys much more because of the low cost of living in their home countries.

These issues need to be addressed and whichever party does this will be the villains of the piece.

Frank Field(the Labour MP for Birkenhead, Minister for Benefit Reform for 97 -98) tried for years to reform benefits....but came up against all kinds of opposition.
If benefits had been reformed then we would not be in the position we are in.