Cameron’s workers v shirkers scam has at last exposed the Tory law of benefit cuts | Aditya Chakrabortty

With the fictional divide beween deserving and undeserving poor collapsing, the Conservatives' ugly logic is turning into the one story they truly fear

It was the raw early days of the coalition, and one of David Cameron's lieutenants was giving a frank answer to my blunt question: what would it take for the government to pull back on its planned cuts? You didn't need a Mensa membership to see that this topic would define the next five years.

On that sunny autumn afternoon, the newspapers were full of students besieging Conservative central office, but Cameron's aide coolly judged that they'd blown it by picking the wrong target. Had they swarmed on Lib Dem HQ "that would really have put Clegg under pressure". So what would change Tory minds? "The crunch will come when the Mail puts on its front page pictures of some Iraq war veteran in a wheelchair who's lost his disability benefits."

Related: Skivers v strivers: the argument that pollutes people's minds

'I've got a dog and have to make sure he's OK,' one says cheerfully. 'If need be I'll eat his biscuits.'