ew aspects of the Government’s attempts to balance the budget excite quite so much emotion as the welfare system. To partisan critics, any attempt by the Conservatives to reduce the sums the state gives to welfare recipients is proof that the party is heartless and cruel and intent on persecuting the poor and vulnerable. This is, of course, prejudiced nonsense with no basis in fact, as most sensible people recognise. But in a society where the BBC and its instinctive Left-wing bias have influence, there is always the danger that such arguments gain traction none the less.

As such, the speech delivered yesterday by David Cameron is a necessary corrective to a dangerous misunderstanding. The Prime Minister, with clarity and passion, explained that reducing the welfare bill is not just fiscally responsible, but morally right, too. There is nothing progressive or kind about a system in which some people are better off claiming than working, a form of dependency that infantalises and deprives claimants of the psychological and social benefits of work, leaving them unable to offer a positive example to their children.

For those who do work but claim tax credits to supplement their income, the prospect of cuts may appear daunting, but Mr Cameron is again right that the only route to higher wages is a more productive economy that creates and shares more wealth; the Government cannot create that wealth by writing a cheque with taxpayers’ money. Instead of topping up low-paid workers’ wages with benefits, ministers should aim to cut taxes further on those wages, and on the employers who provide them, allowing them to employ more staff who share in their profits. Freeing Britain’s workers and businesses is not only economically right but compassionate, too.