I don't understand why you would want to reduce spending on welfare

The Conservative Manifesto states the party will: "Cap overall welfare spending, lower the amount of benefits that any household can receive to £23,000 and continue to roll out Universal Credit to make work pay."

There are three parts to this statement:
- Lower the amount of benefits that any household can receive
- Roll out Universal Credit
- Make work pay

(See how they lumped the last one together with Universal Credit? Sneaky.)

Ok, here's what I can't understand - how could you vote for any of this?

1. Lower the amount of benefits that any household can receive to £23,000

You might think that figure sounds quite generous, but if you voted Conservative, you're likely already in the 'every man for himself' mentality. Which means you might have misread a vital part of that statement, 'any household'.

£23,000 sounds like a decent wage (especially if you think benefits claimants are sitting around all day doing nothing), but it's per household, and it's the maximum. So lots of people will be receiving significantly less than this, and if you're in a two-person household, it's the equivalent of earning £11,500 per year each, at the very most. Hmmm, not so generous now.

The next problem with this, is that everyone lives to their means. That's why when you get a pay rise, a few months later you can't imagine how you survived on less cash. If you suddenly started receiving £230 less each month (which is what this new benefits cap equates to for the households receiving the maximum), you might have to cut back on your morning latte. For some, it's going to mean the difference between heating and eating.

What's more, the Conservative Party wants to stop people aged between 18 and 21 from claiming housing benefit. I wonder what will happen to the young people who are suddenly evicted from their social housing, and need to find the significant deposit and first month's rent for a private let. Not to mention the rent every month after that. You might not be renting, you might not be receiving housing benefit, but how can you ignore the thousands of young people about to be made destitute?

That's not to mention the people living with drug and alcohol addiction, or obesity who will have their benefits cut if they refuse (or are not successful) in the treatment programmes they are offered.

It's been calculated by the IFS that these changes will save the Tory government around £1.5 billion per year, when they have pledged to reduce the welfare bill by £12 billion. I dread to think where the rest will come from.

How can you vote for a policy that robs people of such a significant amount of money that they have been deemed entitled to?

I don't understand how you can close your eyes and ears to these drastic cuts. Maybe it's not happening on your doorstep and maybe you're lucky enough to have never claimed benefits. And you're even luckier if none of your family or friends are currently claiming welfare. Maybe it's easier to dehumanise the people who will suffer when you don't know their names. But that doesn't stop it happening, and I hope you never lose your job, risk losing your home or have a family member fall on hard times, because it's going to be hard to watch when you voted for such severe austerity.

I think that's enough for now - points two and three to follow.