... how should we judge Duncan Smith’s six years as secretary of state? Having an original, consistent vision for the transformation of the benefit system was not a fault, even if not all of us thought it was practical or sensible. But when confronted with evidence or data that challenged his world view, he ignored it or, worse still, twisted and misrepresented the statistics. When his advisers told him to slow down, he refused to listen. When disabled people or charities pointed out the human cost, in suicides or food banks, not only did he not change course, he and his advisers smeared them with off-the-record briefings. Ultimately, it was this refusal to engage with reality that was not only his downfall, but ensures that he leaves little in the way of a positive legacy.
If the Tory Party is a house of many mansions, then a plague on them all.
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