In a town far from Whitehall, I saw just how devastating Labour’s cuts will be. So why can’t ministers? | John Harris

A day with a care worker in Bury showed me the intolerable pressures of her life – and then I heard the news of a new squeeze on benefitsJust under a fortnight ago, my working day began at 6.45am, on a silent cul-de-sac near Bury, in Greater Manchester. I was there to shadow Julia, a domiciliary care worker, on her daily morning rounds. She was about to let herself into the home of a 93-year-old woman. “She’ll be asleep in bed,” Julia told me. In 30 packed minutes, she ha