For goodness sake, I feel its time to get tough on people who claim benefits and don't work. I am a divorced mother of 3 children, all of whom are from my marriage. I work full time, pay my mortgage, get my tax credits (which are not a benefit as they replaced the married man's tax allowance) and apart from the added benefit of free dental care get nothing else for free. I am unable to afford a holiday at all and we make do as best we can. I would have loved to have all the free handouts these people get but when my husband left my youngest child was not quite 4 and my eldest about 9. As for the luxury of being at home with my children - that would have been a dream, I'd have been able to not have to do a 9-5 job and then come home to have to start all over again, wouldn't that have been nice. Make them damm well work for their money. Yes, give them free or reduced childcare to help but why should we just give for free anymore. Save our taxes from these spongers!

Julie, Horsham, West Sussex

I have a friend who has claimed benefits for the majority of the 18 years I have known her. In this time I studied at one of the old polys and gained work i. I have a mortgage live by myself and just about get by. I do not drink or smoke. I have no chldren although i am nearly 40 I simply could not afford to have them. My friend however has 1 child with another on the way. She and her partner claim benefits from separate addresses although they live together. On benefits alone she gains £500 in rent, 358 spending,free council tax, child benefits/credits, free dentistry, eyecare etc. All of this amounts to well over £1000 in benefits , which is just about what I earn.I work a full time week of shifts often leaving my house at 6 am and arriving home at 9 pm. My friend tells me her baby allows her to stay in bed until 9am and then she goes back to bed after feeding. lazy cow. Why should I pay her wage.. My friend also has the extra benefit of her partner to spend.

maxine, macclesfield,

We all know perfectly well there are two types of non-working mothers - those whose work is actually raising their children (ie, being a mother, teacher, fitness coach, nutritionist, psychologist, etc etc etc), and those who are simply using their children as a means of unearned income (whether from state benefits or a working dad). The latter are NOT raising their children - they put zilch into being their child's teacher etc, and in their case their benefits, and their pin-money (ie, their handbag allowance from their husbands) should be stopped. NO ONE in this world deserves a free life! Although I suppose husbands will do what they want, the state, at least, can insist that to receive benefits, those non-working mothers incapable or teaching their own children have to attend nursery etc WITH them, in order to learn how to teach them. It's utterly pointless bringing up yet another generation of ignorant, useless parasites incapable of living without handouts from the state.

Janey Scott, London , UK

Liberal think tanks need to be made illegal. £60 a week is a third of my wage and I heavily resent paying increased taxes to pay for these women. I gave up any idea of a career or a decent pension to look after my own children and pay for nursery myself. Whoever wants this to happen has just lost my vote. We are paying and paying and paying for other people's children and I am sick of it. These ideas would not have the blessing of the status quo. Put ALL of these female wasters out to work, children or not, and let them pay for their own childcare.

judy, Liverpool, england

Surely that's a view aimed to antagonise Phil? The article is not about single mothers, simply non-working mothers and they can exist in stable happy relationships too you know!
By the way (just in case you are serious), for someone who's preaching Christian values you don't sound very tolerant.

Kathryn, London, UK

By all means up the provision of 'Pre-School' education for all children regardless of their background. However it has to be very specifically available for the children and children only, not £60 to be put in a parents hands. To Mr Essex man, I think I am a typical single parent , I am one not by choice, i had a husband but he left me to live the single life but I work to keep my family as best I can and my children are not the result of a one night stand. If you wish to be Christian about morality then children are born innocent and we as Christians have a moral obligation to look after them all regardless of their parentage, period.

Catriona Straine-Urquhart, Edinburgh, Scotland

Great. So now, not only do the taxpayers support 'non-working' families, we should start paying for childcare for their children as well?!?!? What else do they do at home all day? Will they atleast look for a job in those hours the children are at child care? Maybe the Government should also pay for a door to door pickup for these children - surely the parent/s cannot be bothered to drop the children off at the nursery!?

I am this close to giving up and leaving this country... anti-taxpayer, anti-middle class, anti-hard working families in every walk of life!

VS, St. Albans, Herts

This amounts to being paid for a one-night-stand. Hey, don't learn anything, be disruptive, be immoral and the rest of the taxpayers will support you. Get back to moral Christian living, live right, work, get married and have children in a stable family. There didn't used to be the problems which are so commonplace as they are today - wonder why?

Phil , Brentwood, Essex