[iapetus]

I knew that was coming unless I said Henley-On-Thames! Cue Henley-On-Thames resident with doley neighbours...

Closer probably has an article about evil immigrant job-dodgers with a mansion in Henley-on-Thames paid for by the taxpayer lined up for next week.

[curls]

Idiot. How do you expect the country to continue running if everyone lives on Jobseeker's Allowance for their entire lives?

Isn't that what Morrissey said he did. The shock on their faces. :lol

[SmokyDave]

You should check out Belfast, here the go down to the shops in the middle of the day in the pjamames, I didn't believe it til I saw with my own eyes

Nottingham provides me with all the poverty poetry I could ever need :(

West Sussex actually. What's "posher" - Sussex or Surrey?

Mumble mumble all fucking shandy tastes the same mumble mumble. Rabble.

Closer probably has an article about evil immigrant job-dodgers with a mansion in Henley-on-Thames paid for by the taxpayer lined up for next week.

I'm not going to get it in to the editor on time, I've been sidetracked by radical islamic homeless people and their bogus expense claims.

[Sir Fragula]

closer probably has an article about evil immigrant job-dodgers with a mansion in Henley-on-Thames paid for by the taxpayer lined up for next week.

I really want to see an article about illegal emigrants...

[SmokyDave]

I really want to see an article about illegal emigrants...

I can do you a webpage about Illegal Cormorants.

Well, the illegal killing thereof.

[iapetus]

I can do you a webpage about Illegal Cormorants. Well, the illegal killing thereof.

How about a story on ill eagles in general?

[SmokyDave]

How about a story on ill eagles in general?

USGS Finds That Mysterious Arkansas Bald Eagle Disease Has Spread To Ducks In Eastern States

So it is immigration that's to blame!

The eagles should have been stopped on the way through Arizona.

[sohois]

There seems to be a joke to be made about legal eagles somewhere here, but I'll be damned if I can find it.

[Zenith]

Give me a job i want and i will take it in a heartbeat.

No shit. "Give me my dream job and I'll consider it."

8am till 4.30pm everyday just cruising along with my lawnmore cutting the grass and enjoying the sun

exactly, "just cruising along". you want a cushy job doing jack shit.

I'd be like a mindless bot excluded from the world

Hint: you are a mindless bot. You have no desire to aspire to anything except to maybe, one day, if you feel like out lay out some cones on the side of a road.

[avaya]

I do hope that kent character is a joke post.

[SmokyDave]

I do hope that kent character is a joke post.

Surrey?

Sussex?

Shandy.

Edit: On a related note, why do we have Wessex, Sussex, Essex, Middlesex but no 'Nossex' or 'Norsex'?

[sohois]

Surrey? Sussex? Shandy. Edit: On a related note, why do we have Wessex, Sussex, Essex, Middlesex but no 'Nossex' or 'Norsex'?

Who the hell would want to live in Nossex?

Edit: other than catholic priests. I guess when Henry VIII adopted protestantism he abolished Nossex

[gofreak]

Isn't that what Morrissey said he did. The shock on their faces. :lol

£60 a week? Is that it? Or is that a lower rate?

I've never really compared dole rates in other countries, but here the sort of standard rate is ~€200/week.

[cntrational]

I've decided to be suicidal and start spamming stuff from rss feeds posting news here, like I do in the (US) PoliGAF thread. someone dissuade me

[Mr. Sam]

Eh, go nuts. We're running out of stuff to discuss anyway.

[operon]

£60 a week? Is that it? Or is that a lower rate? I've never really compared dole rates in other countries, but here the sort of standard rate is ~€200/week.

Thats it a week dole is too much in the republic, how do they expect to get bums out to work when they get that much in dole, plus that 60 pounds doesn't inlcude the things like lower council tax etc etc someone else can fill in the details for me

[SmokyDave]

I've decided to be suicidal and start spamming stuff from rss feeds posting news here, like I do in the (US) PoliGAF thread. someone dissuade me

Nah, I think it's a really good idea. It'll be interesting to get an outsiders perspective on important news. We're kinda like guys sitting in the pub drawing straws to see who has to go fetch the newspapers.

Also, I fear Chinner has migrated south for the winter.

[Varion]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8702061.stm

Ed Miliband has secured the most support from MPs so far in the race to become the next Labour leader. Figures published by the party on the first day of official nominations show he has the backing of 34 MPs, enough to mean he can stand in the contest. Candidates need the support of 33 MPs to be able to get on the ballot paper. Among the other five contenders, David Miliband, Ed's brother, currently has 19 nominations Ed Balls has four and Andy Burham has one. Neither Diane Abbott nor John McDonnell, both backbenchers on the left of the party, have any so far.

Ed has more support than Dave? Well I'm surprised.

[Mr. Sam]

Ed has more support than Dave? Well I'm surprised.

So far.

[UnblessedSoul]

I heard 10k uni places will be gone? Damn I'm screwed

[avaya]

Surrey? Sussex? Shandy. Edit: On a related note, why do we have Wessex, Sussex, Essex, Middlesex but no 'Nossex' or 'Norsex'?

Surrey.

We invented the essence of the raaa-raaa.

[Raydeen]

I heard 10k uni places will be gone? Damn I'm screwed

Well if that's 10k of Nu Media courses, good fucking riddance. I worked with a girl doing new media (3 year uni course)- final year she went back to study she literally studied for 3 hours a week - but sure had a shitload of new party photos everyweek in her Facebook. Science, Physics, Biology, Maths should all be core, free paid for uni courses, but anything artistic should be paid - sorry, but your either an artist for your not. Studying isn't going to make you any better.

[avaya]

Yes I have to agree far too many university courses are this airy fairy nonsense these days.

Money needs to be prioritised towards the traditional courses. Random shit at university is a very real waste of money when the private sector ends up doing most of the training itself. So, outside of the major science/med/engineering subjects you really don't need to specialise in a course.

We need to be focused on improving the quality of the labour force. That starts from the ground up.

More standardised courses the better. Push the quality up. I would even go as far as scrapping tinpot A-Levels entirely and replacing them with an IB. Better and more rounded education all-round.

Now if I was going to go extreme I would mandate every teacher from year 7 and above is required to have a dumbbell. Need some fucking discipline in schools these days. I say go completely medieval on them.

[defel]

Liam Byrne just bemoaned the spending cuts on Newsnight. Hasnt the money "all gone". Idiot.

[Subliminal]

Ugh, fuck david cameron.

[avaya]

Well he would bemoan them wouldn't he? Afterall one of his own businessess provides services to the government :lol

Ugh, fuck david cameron.

What has he done?

[Kentpaul]

I ain't no joke character i just cannot be assed working hard, and when i do work i like to have it easy , its just the way it is

[Subliminal]

What has he done?

existed.

[xbhaskarx]

Ugh, fuck david cameron.

Someone needs to make a David Cameron deal with it gif.

[curls]

I ain't no joke character i just cannot be assed working hard, and when i do work i like to have it easy , its just the way it is

You should go to university and study yacht management while you still have the chance.

[Subliminal]

I ain't no joke character i just cannot be assed working hard, and when i do work i like to have it easy , its just the way it is

Good on you, Not everyone wants to work like a mule their entire life. And thats what Our government does Did for people, LETS THEM BE FREE!!

[gofreak]

Thats it a week dole is too much in the republic, how do they expect to get bums out to work when they get that much in dole, plus that 60 pounds doesn't inlcude the things like lower council tax etc etc someone else can fill in the details for me

The basic dole is only the start here too...there's rent allowance, and all kinds of other allowances depending on your situation. Rent allowance in particular can be very generous (it's a proportion of your rent, not a fixed amount...meaning if you're renting somewhere expensive, you can get a lot of value...)

I think it's a legacy of the boom years, when I guess it was 'proven' that even with a very generous social welfare system, people did prefer to work if they could work. That was the case, when there were jobs-a-plenty, few people were actually 'bums' and stayed on benefit regardless.

And of course...it was easy to afford this generosity, when unemployment was so low and tax receipts so high.

Interestingly, though, there's been little adjustment to social welfare since the shit hit the fan. Only a very minor reduction (from €20x to €196 per week), and some rule changes for people under 20 (their max is €100 a week or something like that). I expect if finances don't recover that more will have to be done though...

I'll have to remember the UK rate, though, next time I hear someone complain about the dole here.

[jas0nuk]

I ain't no joke character i just cannot be assed working hard, and when i do work i like to have it easy , its just the way it is

Go and live on your own island then.

Subliminal: Cameron is PM now, get over it. The new government has made a good start at dealing with the mess of the previous one.

I suppose you're one of those lefty trolls who still blames Thatcher for all the country's ills, 20 years after she left office and 13 years after her party left government.

[JonathanEx]

My Uni has "Golf Science & Development" as a course. Why am I revising Law for my Journalism course right now?!

[Sir Fragula]

Edit: On a related note, why do we have Wessex, Sussex, Essex, Middlesex but no 'Nossex' or 'Norsex'?

If memory serves by the time the Saxons were to settle north of Mercia [and thus form the Northern Saxon kingdom or norsex] the Angles had established themselves in the area.

[Dambrosi]

Go and live on your own island then. Subliminal: Cameron is PM now, get over it. The new government has made a good start at dealing with the mess of the previous one. I suppose you're one of those lefty trolls who still blames Thatcher for all the country's ills, 20 years after she left office and 13 years after her party left government.

The only reason I want to believe in Hell is that I hope that bitch roasts in it along with her boyfriend Ronnie :lol

I agree with Raydeen, avaya and curls on the frivolous Uni courses, though. Yacht Management? Golf Sciences?!? What??? :lol

Oh, and as for the benefits argument, Council Tax and Housing Benefit are paid out so that claimants and their families aren't turfed out of their homes and forced to live rough, which might possibly maybe would definitely lead to an explosive rise in the crime rate. Hopefully nobody has any objection to that.

[Garjon]

Subliminal: Cameron is PM now, get over it. The new government has made a good start at dealing with the mess of the previous one.

I'll ignore the craziness of the second part of your post and say that I'd almost agree with you here, if George Osbourne didn't just axe the Future Jobs Fund - a move that literally makes absolutely no sense. The FJF stimulated economy, it stimulated business and more importantly it helped with the high unemployment rates; calling it a 'waste' and/or inefficient is absolutely dumbfounded. The competition for these places alone (where I live) is fierce.

The main reason for the increasing number of unemployed youths is due to a lack of experience; employers aren't willing to take on younger, inexperienced workers at this time, so that's where FJF comes in. For Mr Osbourne to put that as one of his priorities for cuts just shows the old Daily Mirror image of the Tories creeping in.

Fuck George Osbourne.

[JonathanEx]

I agree with Raydeen, avaya and curls on the frivolous Uni courses, though. Yacht Management? Golf Sciences?!? What??? :lol

Hey now don't undermine Golf Sciences, it's Golf Sciences AND Development! So much innovation.

[Dambrosi]

I'll ignore the craziness of the second part of your post and say that I'd almost agree with you here, if George Osbourne didn't just axe the Future Jobs Fund - a move that literally makes absolutely no sense. The FJF stimulated economy, it stimulated business and more importantly it helped with the high unemployment rates; calling it a 'waste' and/or inefficient is absolutely dumbfounded. The competition for these places alone (where I live) is fierce. The main reason for the increasing number of unemployed youths is due to a lack of experience; employers aren't willing to take on younger, inexperienced workers at this time, so that's where FJF comes in. For Mr Osbourne to put that as one of his priorities for cuts just shows the old Daily Mirror image of the Tories creeping in.

Did he now? I'm sure that wasn't just petty anti-lower class political maneuvering on his part, was it? Because I can't think of any practically acceptable reason for this change. Except...the dreaded WorkFare?

Fuck the Tories.

This. Would they initiate the return of Victorian-style workhouse culture via "Dole Slavery" for all unemployed people? In the words of the Pet Shop Boys, "Left to their own devices, they probably would".

[jas0nuk]

As far as I know, the Future Jobs Fund creates something like 150,000 temporary jobs for around 6 months or more, for people unemployed for more than a year. Youth unemployment is over 700,000.

So it's simply a temporary measure which does absolutely nothing to help address long term unemployment problems. It takes people off Jobseeker's Allowance only to dump them back onto it 6 months later.

The cancellation of the FJF is part of the long term plan for a wholesale review of the employment and benefits systems. From the Conservative manifesto:
“We will scrap Labour’s failing employment schemes and create a single Work Programme for everyone who is unemployed, including the 2.6 million people claiming Incapacity Benefit who do not get enough help from existing programmes.”

Dambrosi: your class warfare and irrational Tory hatred is really boring.

[Raydeen]

As far as I know, the Future Jobs Fund creates something like 150,000 temporary jobs for around 6 months or more, for people unemployed for more than a year. Youth unemployment is over 700,000. So it's simply a temporary measure which does absolutely nothing to help address long term unemployment problems. It takes people off Jobseeker's Allowance only to dump them back onto it 6 months later. The cancellation of the FJF is part of the long term plan is for a wholesale review of the employment and benefits systems. From the Conservative manifesto: “We will scrap Labour’s failing employment schemes and create a single Work Programme for everyone who is unemployed, including the 2.6 million people claiming Incapacity Benefit who do not get enough help from existing programmes.”

Mrs is working in Wetherspoons 3 times a night while she studies for next bit of her ACCA accounts exam. Her branch has employed three FJF kitchen staff. One was sacked after two weeks for threatning to punch the manager...the second quit after two days and the third my wife suspects of smoking joints in the kitchen and is likely to be sent packing (if not already) by the end of the week.

[curls]

Mrs is working in Wetherspoons 3 times a night while she studies for next bit of her ACCA accounts exam. Her branch has employed three FJF kitchen staff. One was sacked after two weeks for threatning to punch the manager...the second quit after two days and the third my wife suspects of smoking joints in the kitchen and is likely to be sent packing (if not already) by the end of the week.

Where do people like this come from?

[Dambrosi]

As far as I know, the Future Jobs Fund creates something like 150,000 temporary jobs for around 6 months or more, for people unemployed for more than a year. Youth unemployment is over 700,000. So it's simply a temporary measure which does absolutely nothing to help address long term unemployment problems. It takes people off Jobseeker's Allowance only to dump them back onto it 6 months later. The cancellation of the FJF is part of the long term plan is for a wholesale review of the employment and benefits systems. From the Conservative manifesto: “We will scrap Labour’s failing employment schemes and create a single Work Programme for everyone who is unemployed, including the 2.6 million people claiming Incapacity Benefit who do not get enough help from existing programmes.” Dambrosi: your class warfare and irrational Tory hatred is really boring.

Did you not read Garjon's reply? The main reason for youth unemployment is their lack of experience. How are you supposed to gain experience in work if employers won't give you work because you're inexperienced? That's what the FJF was supposed to combat. Even if you were back on the Dole after six months, you still have those six months of experience, which, however small, would help you find a more permanent job. Surely you'd have no objection to that?

Oh, and jasOnuk: your smug self satisfaction and irrational Tory brown-nosing are getting rather disgusting.

EDIT: Raydeen, is that for real? Yikes, sucks to be her. I mean, it's not like they didn't get interviewed, right?

[jas0nuk]

Have you read Raydeen's post? I'm sure it isn't the only example. FJF creates temporary non-jobs which waste taxpayer's money when we should be looking at addressing LONG TERM unemployment problems.

FJF is not a viable or sustainable solution. It is a sticking plaster.

edit: Apparently "four weeks on minimum wage" counts as a job. Great, really.

[Garjon]

As far as I know, the Future Jobs Fund creates something like 150,000 temporary jobs for around 6 months or more, for people unemployed for more than a year. Youth unemployment is over 700,000. So it's simply a temporary measure which does absolutely nothing to help address long term unemployment problems. It takes people off Jobseeker's Allowance only to dump them back onto it 6 months later. The cancellation of the FJF is part of the long term plan for a wholesale review of the employment and benefits systems. From the Conservative manifesto: “We will scrap Labour’s failing employment schemes and create a single Work Programme for everyone who is unemployed, including the 2.6 million people claiming Incapacity Benefit who do not get enough help from existing programmes.” Dambrosi: your class warfare and irrational Tory hatred is really boring.

Of course it's temporary, that's the whole point of it. I wouldn't expect them to directly fund god knows how many jobs forever; it's just a compromise for the next few years (although if it were a roaring success, I can't see why it wouldn't be built upon when there are more funds coming in).
I just fail to see how cutting these places and jobs in the public sector and then expecting the system to suddenly fix itself through restructuring the system and giving it a new fancy name without effectively forcing private companies to take on more staff.
And I don't like how you used the word 'dumped' - giving them 6 months of work experience is hardly dumping them.

Raydeen, don't tell me you are suggesting a link between FJF and idiot psychopaths who smoke weed all day?

[Dambrosi]

Have you read Raydeen's post? I'm sure it isn't the only example. FJF creates temporary non-jobs which waste taxpayer's money when we should be looking at addressing LONG TERM unemployment problems. FJF is not a viable or sustainable solution. It is a sticking plaster.

How are young people supposed to gain work experience, then? I'd love it if old-style apprenticeships came back, but we're not an industrial nation anymore. I wonder why...?

Again: the main reason for youth unemployment and, I'd wager, unemployment in general is that employers won't employ inexperienced staff. Solution?

Forcing private companies to take on more staff would be like forcing the banks to start loaning out money again - a popular move, but, given the economy's current state, annoyingly impractical. Surely there has to be another way?

[curls]

Again: the main reason for youth unemployment and, I'd wager, unemployment in general is that employers won't employ inexperienced staff. Solution?

Petrol bomb job agencies.

[jas0nuk]

Turns out it's not even six months, apparently four weeks on minimum wage counts as a job under the Future Jobs Fund. How the heck does that help anyone?

I'd suggest that lack of experience is not the only factor affecting youth unemployment and unemployment in general. Over the past 2 or 3 years the private sector has had to tighten its belt by making redundancies and freezing or even cutting wages in inefficient departments. Creating temporary jobs gives some experience but it hardly improves their chances of getting a job afterwards, if there are no jobs available. The public sector has taken up some of the slack but since public sector jobs are not wealth-creating there is only so much the state can do before we end up with a borrowing crisis, as we have done.

The government needs to encourage private sector growth and make it easier and cheaper for employers to create jobs.

[Dambrosi]

Turns out it's not even six months, apparently four weeks on minimum wage counts as a job under the Future Jobs Fund. How the heck does that help anyone? I'd suggest that lack of experience is not the only factor affecting youth unemployment and unemployment in general. Over the past 2 or 3 years the private sector has had to tighten its belt by making redundancies and freezing or even cutting wages in inefficient departments. Creating temporary jobs gives some experience but it hardly improves their chances of getting a job afterwards, if there are no jobs available.

So you admit that there are no (or very few) jobs in the current economic climate? That concurs with my experiences of late.

Considering that the private sector's current woes are mainly being caused by the banks' unwillingness to lend credit in a tough global recession, what is the best course for reversing that trend?

Just making it cheaper and easier to employ people won't cut it on its own, we have to make sure that those people aren't unfairly exploited as well.

[Garjon]

Turns out it's not even six months, apparently four weeks on minimum wage counts as a job under the Future Jobs Fund. How the heck does that help anyone? I'd suggest that lack of experience is not the only factor affecting youth unemployment and unemployment in general. Over the past 2 or 3 years the private sector has had to tighten its belt by making redundancies and freezing or even cutting wages in inefficient departments. Creating temporary jobs gives some experience but it hardly improves their chances of getting a job afterwards, if there are no jobs available. The government needs to encourage private sector growth and make it easier and cheaper for employers to create jobs.

Link to the bolded?

Yeah, you're probably right. Which is exactly what the Tories/Lib Dems are failing to do. But then, how exactly would you stimulate private sector growth while avoiding the negative points of the FJF?