Labour considers paying for people to inform on benefit cheats

The Guardian reports:

"People who inform on benefit cheats could be given a share of the resulting savings to the state under proposals being examined by Labour's manifesto team. The idea has been put to Ed Miliband, Labour's manifesto co-ordinator, by Jim Murphy, the Scottish secretary, as a way of making life harder for benefit cheats.

It has also been discussed by Downing Street as it looks at ways to bolster its Respect agenda, designed to persuade sceptics that the state is on the side of hard-working families... No 10 is said to be attracted to the idea as symbolic of a tough contract on fairness in which Labour offers support for those genuinely in need on the condition that they play by the rules."

The discussion of the idea comes on the day of a Populus poll for The Times which finds that 68% say people who play by the rules get a raw deal.