Summary 5

Part 1: the story of Universal Credit 8

Universal Credit’s darkest days 8

Universal Credit, and a bright new dawn 10

From fix to fixture: the rise of in-work benefits 11

Universal Credit goes into government 19

So what went wrong? 23

The pandemic 33

Completion: 2020 to 2026 34

Universal Credit under Labour 38

Part 2: lessons from Universal Credit 40

Issues specific to Universal Credit 41

What went right? 44

Part 3: the impact of Universal Credit 49

Conclusion 62

References 63

About the author 69