The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith, has today set out his vision for welfare reform.
Speaking at Conservative Party Conference in Manchester this morning, Mr Duncan Smith said:
"Labour's spend now pay later, debt driven economy spawned a culture of conspicuous consumption, where people were only valued in terms of how much they earned or how much they were worth. This culture has left us in a debt crisis, the like of which none of us has ever seen before. That is why we are unwavering in tackling our inherited debt - it is the only path to a strong, sustainable economy for our generation and the next.
"Restoring our economy must go hand in hand with restoring society. In essence, what we are engaged in is more than benefit change and more than just welfare reform. It is social reform, leading to social recovery.
"This day, let that be our promise to our country, a promise forged even in the teeth of an economic gale, And against the siren voices saying it cannot be done, that we will hold true to our purpose and renew our commitment to reform our society, so that we can restore aspiration and hope, to people that have been left behind for too long.
"This is the challenge of our generation, Let us rise to that challenge."
Read the full speech here.