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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Government adviser to join Tories | Government adviser to join Tories |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| A government adviser on welfare reform has quit to become a frontbench spokesman for the Conservatives. | A government adviser on welfare reform has quit to become a frontbench spokesman for the Conservatives. |
| Sir David Freud, architect of Labour's planned benefit system shake-up, is to be appointed shadow welfare minister by Tory leader David Cameron. | |
| Mr Cameron described Sir David, who will become a peer, as a "hugely impressive figure". | |
| Labour sources said Sir David had been an independent adviser and was never considered a party-political supporter. | Labour sources said Sir David had been an independent adviser and was never considered a party-political supporter. |
| Sir David put forward measures in a green paper last year to encourage more disabled people and lone parents into employment. | |
| It won the support of the Conservatives, while sparking outrage from many on the Labour left. | It won the support of the Conservatives, while sparking outrage from many on the Labour left. |
| Radical proposals | Radical proposals |
| Sir David had previously proposed opening up the welfare system to private sector providers in a bid to get the unemployed back into work. | |
| Mr Cameron told BBC One's Politics Show: "He's a hugely impressive figure." | |
| He added: "One of the big challenges is to get people back into work and getting people who have been on benefits for a long time back into work. | |
| "I think David Freud has done more than anyone else to highlight how we can improve our welfare system and our training and jobs system and he [Sir David] will be a key part of a new Conservative government." | |
| It is understood that Mr Cameron and shadow chancellor George Osborne have been speaking regularly to the City financier about welfare and the economy for some time. | It is understood that Mr Cameron and shadow chancellor George Osborne have been speaking regularly to the City financier about welfare and the economy for some time. |
| The Conservatives promised a "full-blooded version" of what they termed the government's "half-hearted" implementation of Sir David's radical proposals. | |
| They will hope that the loss of a man closely identified with one of his government's key programmes will be embarrassing to Prime Minister Gordon Brown at a time when unemployment is nearing two million. | They will hope that the loss of a man closely identified with one of his government's key programmes will be embarrassing to Prime Minister Gordon Brown at a time when unemployment is nearing two million. |
| However, party strategists believe Labour may be able to exploit differences between Mr Cameron and his new peer. | However, party strategists believe Labour may be able to exploit differences between Mr Cameron and his new peer. |
| Sir David has backed issues like making allowances for drug addicts conditional on them undergoing rehabilitation and a requirement for lone parents of children aged under five to prepare for work. | Sir David has backed issues like making allowances for drug addicts conditional on them undergoing rehabilitation and a requirement for lone parents of children aged under five to prepare for work. |
| A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman confirmed Sir David had quit as an adviser. | |
| "We can confirm we discussed this matter in advance with David Freud and he has left his role as an adviser to the department by mutual consent," he said. | |
| "We thanked him for his important work in building consensus around the welfare reform green paper in July and wished him well for the future." |