The head of a leading Christian organisation helping people into employment has praised Labour's plans to get the long-term unemplued back into work.
Thousands of people who've been out of work for more than two years could be guaranteed jobs under a new plan by the opposition.
The cost of the one billion pound scheme would be met by cutting tax relief on the pensions of the wealthiest.
It would see the long-term unemployed guaranteed a 6-month job, on at least the minimum wage.
The controvercial move could see mean that anyone out of work for more than two years would face losing their benefits if they didn't take it up.
Chris Price is the Executive Director of Pecan, a Christian organisation helping people back into work.
He told Premier's Des Busteed on the News Hour that he believed the proposals would work better than the government's current's scheme:
Liam Byrne, the shadow work and pensions secretary who announced the plan under a "working and training, not claiming" heading has admitted that Labour's new policy would come as a "culture shock" to some but would act as a "lifeline" to others.
The move is being seen as push by Labour to compete with the Conservatives' "strivers not skivers" mantra.
In polling, Labour trails badly on welfare, especially among swing voters.
The Conservatives have been offering jobseekers six months of intensive support from a dedicated Jobcentre Plus adviser, or a place on a community action programme involving 30 hours' work a week for six months.
In polling, Labour trails badly on welfare, especially among swing voters.
But Conservative Chairman Grant Shapps claims Labour's proposals don't add up, he said "They've taken a billion pounds that they've already said they were going to spend on changes to tax credits and spent the whole lot of money again. Within hours they're now telling they've dropped that previous policy and hadn't told anyone. The whole thing is a complete mess"
However, the Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls MP defended the proposals by claiming most unemployed people want the chance to work, he said: "If you listen to the government you would think that every person who's unemployed is a scrounger, who's drunk and behind the curtains assleep. Actually, the vast majority of people unemployed want to work, they're trying to find work; the problem is the longer you are unemployed the harder it is"