To think that a blanket ban on benefits for under 25s

[pointythings]

Is not only blatantly unfair but also unworkable?

Under a future Tory government, you can leave school at 18, work, lose your job at 23 and be forced straight onto workfare, because you are not eligible for benefits - never mind that you've worked and paid in!

And isn't it blatant age discrimination? Every time I think the Conservatices can't sink any lower, they do...

[Opalite]

I grew up on benefits, my mum stopped getting child benefit when I left education and I went on benefits (jsa). If I wasn't allowed to claim benefits then we wouldn't have been able to afford to live ffs!loads of people are in that situation, if this happened then THEY WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO AFFORD TO LIVE!!!

[littlemisssarcastic]

HuglessDouglas I didn't think you could claim JSA in your circs anyway, unless you've paid enough contributions to be able to claim of course, and that would only give you 6 months on JSA.

[meddie]

Terrible idea...
What if a family are already on NMW and receiving help and struggling as it is.
If their kids have to come home after Uni due to lack of financial support , where are they supposed to get the money to feed extra mouths from (before they went to Uni they would have had help with CB and WTC, this will have stopped), so their income will be less.

So even if their children do the right thing (in tory eyes) and go on to further educate themselves, they will have no help and their parents will be financially punished too. not all under 25's are feckless workshy lay a bouts yet Camoron is effectively lumping them all in together.
I hope this is the tipping point that finally makes young people and their parents get up and get out and vote....

[arethereanyleftatall]

you're right stravy, so perhaps it should not be an age limit, but rather you have to put in for x amount of years, before you can get out?

[DiamondMask]

'I would agree with this policy. It just isn't right that you can go straight to benefits without working.'

So you finish school or university....and you dont get a job the next day. What are you meant to live on while you are looking?

[arethereanyleftatall]

You get a job. Where I live, there are jobs. No excuses. (south east ).

[MummyofIsla]

The notion of this terrifies me. I came out of uni with a 1 year old and if I hadnt had housing benefiy and ctc I would have been skrewed because these days jobs are seriously difficult to come by.

Its easy to say people shouldn't hace children when they can't fully afford to but the truth is, when you dont believe in abortions, these things happen. It doesnt mean we should be left out in the cokd, unable even to pay rent!

[Opalite]

Yep, its that easy to just go and get a job! FFS really arethereanyleftatall???!!!

[MummyofIsla]

Sorry about typos ~ phone

[meddie]

Nice idea arethereanyleftatall. but not everyone lives in the South East, how would those wishing to move down there be able to live while they looked for these bountiful well paying jobs that provided enough income to house and feed themselves.

[Opalite]

And unless you honestly think everyone can just start a job the day they leave education then what money do you think they should live on before they start working?

[MummyofIsla]

Arethereanyleftatall are you for real? When you are young, have zero experience and there are far more experienced people taking jobs beneath them rather than being made redundant it can be nigh on impossible to find a job that can be worked around chuldcare.

[gordyslovesheep]

they don't have a CLUE Cameron said it was possible to 'leave school and go onto benefits' NO IT ISN'T 16/17 year old have very little access to any benefits unless they are parents or homeless and even then it's like getting blood out of a stone

They seem to think housing benefit is an out of work benefit when (I think) 80% + of claimants work

They are utterly ignorant of the system they are trying to damage beyond repair change

[MummyofIsla]

And heaven forbid a person should be able to pay bills and feed their family, even if they are under 25

[arethereanyleftatall]

Where I live, I could without question get a job tomorrow if need be. Without doubt. wouldn't necessarily be a great job , but certainly a job.

[Opalite]

Arethereanyleftatall, that's fantastic for you, you are extremely lucky but surely you realise it isn't like that anywhere else in the fucking country in other places...?

[expatinscotland]

Typical Tory bollocks.

[DiamondMask]

maybe we should all move to your town arethereanyleftatall because it's not like that here. And if you are a young person with disabilities there's almost no hope at all regardless of qualifications with 12 people chasing each job.

[MummyofIsla]

Arethereanyleftatall thats great for you. I would love to see this fantasy land you live in! As for the rest of us its back to a reality of handing out a million application forms and getting zero responses.

[arethereanyleftatall]

I honestly don't know opalite.

[NotYoMomma]

yes but what about... you know... all the other places in the country?

where there are no jobs. how can people move to south east for these magical jobs with no income for train/ accomodation etc?

you are in dreamland

[MummyofIsla]

Diamondmaks I spoke ti a recruitment agency last week and they were saying that for every job vacancy which requires no qualifications there is on average 500 applications.

[littlemisssarcastic]

IIRC, it is only your NI contributions for the last 2 tax years which count when it comes to deciding whether you are eligible for contribution based JSA HuglessDouglas.

Many people have worked for many years without a break, only to find they are not eligible for JSA.