Is Labour soft on benefit dependency?

The Mail has these tables from the Tories showing how welfare dependency is markedly higher in Labour seats than in others.

Of course the Tories cry foul and say that's why Labour is soft on benefits. No we're not, say Labour, we're toughening up. They say the tables just show how the Conservatives fail to connect with poorer people.

What we can say is that "over 3,000" fraud investigators can't hope to police 5.8m working age claimants effectively. And too often sentences passed on those who do get caught are minimal.

So the policy is ineffective. They know that. That's why they spend our money on advertisements saying how effective the policy is.