The State of Modern Britain

The Left had us believe that the welfare state was a just, fair way for society to look after its own, for those able to give something back to do so in order that those who had little or nothing would not suffer.

Generally I am against socialist, statist methods, but in many European countries the social welfare network represented the pinnacle of human achievement, the kindest and most nurturing a human society will probably ever be.

In terms of medical and technical advancement, again Britain and the modern West are the ultimate success stories, enjoying health care and a (material) standard of living which most people living and most advanced civilisations of the past could only dream of.

So, we care about humanity and we are very successful at putting that into practical terms - as I say, the very pinnacle of human achievement.

Well, so many think - but before you decide, meet Leanne Salt, 24.

That's her pictured above. These are her triplets, Deeana, Daisy and Finlee:

When Miss Salt gave birth last August, she had the rather dubious honour of being the fattest woman to ever give birth to triplets - at the time, she weighed 40 stone.

It took 68 NHS specialist staff to deliver her children, born to a man she had known for just four weeks after a meeting in a nightclub (he left her halfway through the pregnancy) - and cost the British taxpayer £200,000, including a specially built operating table so she could have her Caesarean section.

Back home living with her mother and weighing in at a positively diminutive 30 stone, she receives total benefits of £227 a week - £140 tax credit, £42 child benefit and £45 family allowance - which she apparently spends on her ten-a-day cigarette habit and food.

She gets the children dressed and takes them out just once a week - to collect her benefits. She feeds them mainly on regurgitated junk food:

'They were six months old when they had their first McDonald's,' she said. 'They had chicken nuggets and chips and loved it.
'They like fish and chips too, but I take the batter off the fish, so I guess that's healthy.'

So healthy, in fact, that they are consuming double their recommended calories some days.

Now, she wants her own council house - all on us, naturally. Why? Because she can 'mash a potato and stick stuff in the microwave, so we'd be alright on our own'. Well, her and the scabrous teat of the welfare state, at least.

She can do everything except fend for herself and behave responsibly, it seems.

Why do we reward this seedy behaviour and ignorance? We live in a country where many decent, working people can't afford to have children, where many workers have to hand over almost half their income or more to the government so that fools like this can not only maintain their lifestyles, but bring up the next generation of ignorant, grasping low lives who are, simply put, a waste of space.

These are not the high-minded ideals which spawned the welfare state and the benefits culture; but it is, inevitably, where they lead.

Is the story above really produced by a society at the pinnacle of its achievement? God help Britain if this is to be our future.