When a politician opens his mouth I normally expect lies to come out and far too often I am proved right, especially when there is an election coming up. Everywhere I look there are politicians, ministers, MPs and would be MPs promising the moon on a stick, making every promise under the sun and speaking dire warnings about the consequences of voting for the other parties. Which is why Cameron’s utterances of late have been both normal and puzzling. He is clearly trying to act tough by picking on groups of people who cannot fight back, making promises that he thinks will bring his voters back while throwing yet more cruelty and suffering at groups of people he doesn't care about and who are the usual Tory whipping boys. I’m curious though as to just who he thinks he is appealing to with this new stuff. We started with an attack on those most heinous of criminals, the fatties. Yes us chubby types, the overweight, fat and on benefits, not for much longer.
The thing here is that addictions, to drugs, alcohol, tobacco, coffee or food are not the problem, they are a symptom of a deeper problem. Something which is recognised by all of the good treatment programs. Find the root problem, resolve that, then the addiction can be reduced. Anything else is temporary if the problems that cause the addiction remain then the addiction will return. So as the NHS is busy creaking at the joints and slowly collapsing around us where exactly is the carefully considered care and long term support for these 90,000 people going to come from. Actually I’m surprised he didn't just ATOS them and get rid of them that way. The other group that is under attack is that most foul, greedy, self serving pack of thieves, reprobates and worthless scroungers. No ‘Dave’ isn't talking about the MPs. Cameron is talking about the under 25's. Now he was talking to the hard core Tory supporters, the sort of people who see nothing wrong with IDS and ATOS and the persecution of the poor so he was preaching to the converted at the Conservative Conference. He wants voters to put enough Tory MPs back into parliament so they don’t need a coalition and can get on with their political agenda without having those annoying Lib Dems hanging around demanding some sort of reward for abandoning the tattered remnant of their pitiful principles. Note he didn't say that exactly, that’s how I heard his message though.
Because people under 25 never get unemployed or need housing, they all live with mum and dad (or one or the other). What ‘Dave’ is saying is that he thinks the Tories should give young people a “clear, positive choice” to go to school or college, do an apprenticeship or get a job. From 18 to 24, six years of full time education or apprenticeships or a job. Right so at £9,000 a year times six years tats a debt of £54,000 to start with. Just where are several million new apprenticeships coming from? Or these magical guaranteed jobs (or is this workfare)? Just what is he trying to achieve here? 767,000 under 25s drawing jobseekers at £57/week. That’s £2 billion in savings right there. In 2012 Cameron proposed stopping housing benefits to 380,000 under 25s saving £1.8 billion at 2012 costs. So probably £2 billion at 2015 costs. Double that for all under 25s currently on Jobseekers. Total savings £6 billion. Or to put it another way that's six billion in tax that the tax avoiding chums of our politicians don't have to pay. Then there are all those other results they can claim. After all the number of unemployed would drop hugely almost overnight. Something for 'Dave' to boast about at PMQs. Of course there are going to be significant social impacts. Dumping upwards of 800,000 under 25s on their parents by denying them housing benefit and jobseekers, most of these under 25s are not going to have jobs because they live in areas with a shortage of jobs meaning their families are probably suffering as well. Which compounds the problems not just of the under 25s but also of their families. I wonder, if under 25s are now expected to live at home with mum and dad will child support be extended to the child’s 25th birthday? Or dumping thousands of under 25s on the streets because their landlords kick them out and they can’t afford somewhere else, live too far from their families, their families can’t support them or don’t want them or a hundred other reasons why going to the family home isn’t an option. So tens of thousands of new homeless, under 25s, almost certainly angry about it. Not to mention millions more being treated as third class citizens because of their age. Or people forced into crime or prostitution simply to eat. Young and angry, the sort of people who take to the streets to express that anger. But isn't that why Boris is buying those water cannon. Riot suppression? Apart from the stupidity of these new policies they leave me with a question. Just which votes is he trying to gain by making these promises. Which people in this country does he think will vote for him based on pissing off everyone in the country under 25. Remember that parliament is a five year term, which means anyone who is thirteen next year will be walking into the no benefits restrictions when they hit eighteen before the end of the next parliament. I don’t see the young conservatives getting many new members with these policies being discussed apart from those from families rich enough not to care. So has ‘Dave’ written off the entire under 25 vote just like he has written of the Scottish vote. Is this an attempt to appeal to the over 60s the majority of whom vote Tory? Do our retirement age people hate the under 25s that much, are they going to vote Tory because of these policies when it is their grandchildren who are being punished. After all if mum and dad can’t cope it is often the retired grandparents who are asked to help when those under 25s find themselves poverty stricken and homeless. Is it an attempt to woo UKIP voters back, do UKIP voters hate the under 25s that much? Is he appealing to Labour voters or Lib Dem voters (the few that are left) or Green voters. Does he think the undecided voters hate the under 25s or fat people that much that they will flock to vote Tory. Or is this just the latest Tory attack on the poor, the weak, the easy victims. Someone for ‘Dave’ and ‘IDS’ and the rest to persecute and oppress for no good reason other than the justification of money. I know what I think, what’s your opinion? |
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
July 2018
Categories |