The proportion of families reliant on state benefits has fallen over the past 11 years under Labour, according to new research.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank said Labour had reversed the rise over the previous 18 years when the Conservatives were in power.
Under the Tories, the proportion of families reliant on the state for the majority of their disposable income rose from 25% in 1979 to 31% in 1996-97.
However that figure has now fallen back again to 28% in 2008-09. Mike Brewer of the IFS said the change reflected the greater numbers of people now in work as well as the growth of private pensions.
"Given the current Government's decision to increase financial support for most poor families, it may seem strange that the proportion reliant on the state for most of their income has fallen," he said.
"But this reflects the fact that more families are now in paid work, that newly retired pensioners are more likely to have private pensions, and that more families have enjoyed real increases in their wages and other private income under Labour than the Conservatives."
http://www.ifs.org.uk/(Institute for Fiscal Studies)
