More mood music from shameless Labour
This time its immigration.
Gordon Brown regularly tries to get away with quoting that 3 million jobs have been created under Labour, ignoring the key fact that most of them have gone to immigrants. ( For reasons that are all to depressingly clear to those who are employers. )
Now Labour is trying to do a U-turn on immigration, saying it must be restricted.
When the Cosnervatives said this in 2005, the Labour party attack and distortion machine went ion to smear over drive, ably assisted by their vast army of supporters in the BBC. No Conservative spokesperson could saying anything without either being accused, or implied of racism ( whatever the subject they were speaking on ).
Now Phil Woolas is trying to say the same thing for new Labour.
This is because immigration is going up and employment is going down. Unfortunately many immigrants make better employees than the products of Labour all must have prizes education system.
Yet more mood music, yet more spin, yet more hypocrisy - yet more of Gordon Brown's New Labour.
PS I wonder if decks aren't being cleared for a snap election. ( I know the MSM has told us this won't happen, but Labour are dropping unpopular policies like sandbags out of a sinking balloon right now.)
4 comments:
The reason why our unemployed don't take these new jobs' leaving them available for immigrants, is the benefits system, not the education system.
The 3 million jobs Brown is talking about are mostly low paid, low skill jobs, at or near minimum wage.
Someone living on benefits with withdrawal rates from 85% to 115% is not attracted to work at minimum wages. Would you pick cockles or climb on roof or wait tables for 50p/hour? Add in the fact that a lot of these jobs offer short contracts or no security, the disincentive to work increases, since the benefit system is poor at responding to changes in individuals' circumstances that it can be crippling.
Don't blame the poor for being poor, blame the system that keeps them poor.
Mark,
Not doubt there's much truth in what you say.
I can point to an example I know of in a major English city where an employer has the choice of employing young people who frighten his customers, are aggressive and turn up late - or eager to please hard working Eastern Europeans. Its a no brainer for the employer.
The problem is that these people who have been displaced have lost their route via such jobs to the world of work.
Its no doubt a carrot and stick issue.
I agree we should be angry with the system that keeps people poor.
I guess the political question is what is keeping people that way. Simon Heffer made a good point today in the Telegraph today that this will be the first real test of the minimum wage - will it destroy jobs faster or help people of welfare.
E-migration might be our only solution.
Statistic and damned statistics come to mind. I for one would welcome a general election, but I'm not counting on it.
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