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...

[Tiredemma]

I cannot even put into a coherent sentence just how much I fucking hate the Tories.

[meddie]

My employer recently advertised for a hca, no qualifications required, training given. We had over 800 applications, many from graduates. Just desperate to work at anything. Its really difficult around here to get even nmw jobs

[Tiredemma]

Meddie we have had psychology Masters graduates apply for Band 2 Hca posts. Its madness

[LittleMissWise]

DS1 just said they'll pay for your FE until you are 19 if you are doing something like Alevels or a BTECS, but what happens if you have to go back at 21? Who is paying then?

What about prescriptions, dental charges, eye tests? If you have no income or benefits are you just meant to rot?

[Rhianna1980]

A cap for under 25 year olds is a bit harsh. Maybe 22 would be more reasonable. I lived in a country where there is no JSA available at all. People live with their parents and move out when they are financially ready. It is a huge instinctive to find a job and be independent. There is no JSA safety net like here . Uni is very competitive and therefore you end with excellent uni and college results. People tend to have kids when they are financially ready because there is no expectations from the government to subsidise your lifestyle. There is no housing benefits either yet people manage.

Seeing it from both sides, there should be a limit on how much benefits a country should give. I know many people on here will feel offended but reading many posts here gives an idea about the entitlement culture we sadly live in.

I read an article on our economy recently . In short it said that we in the uk are living beyond our means. We spend money that we don't own (uk borrows from china) then we spend the money that we have borrowed from china on chinese products making the debt worse ...so we have false feeling that we are a rich nation when actual fact we are a consumer society . We don't manufacture much anymore and we spend more than we are capable of and put it on finance / credit cards . Maybe we should focus more on making British products to get the economy going and stop buying things with money we don't have just because we love owning gizmos. I think the way forward is to save money rather than spend everything and then wait for benefits to sort it out. I would rather see the money that would been saved on under 25 year old benefit cuts spent on improving education and NHS.

[SeaSickSal]

This is a load of bollocks. If under 25s are expected to pay tax when they're working then they should be entitled to benefits when they're not.

It's ridiculous, just because the under 25s don't vote for them they're giving them a kicking.

What they fail to realise is that at some point their voters are going to die off. And I would love to see how the Conservatives fare when that happens.

[diaimchlo]

arethereanyleftatall Please burst your bubble and enter the real world.

One expense of running your own business is the insurance cover you need to cover all eventualities and of course the constant threat of non payment from your clients, especially during a recession. Really not the right time to try and go it alone especially for youngsters who have little or no life experience.

[Opalite]

Rhianna it is pretty simple, people NEED money to live, even if ttheyre under 22... there aren't enough jobs to go around. How should young and jobless people support themselves? I don't think any posts on here sound entitled, we are all entitled to not be on the streets starving, do you not agree?

[LittleMissWise]

Maybe we should go after the massive companies who avoid paying taxes then Rhianna! Or what about not cutting taxes for the rich, or not wasting money giving married couples a tax break? Stop messing with the education system, that would have saved quite a bit, left DLA alone because it has a fraud rate of less than 1%, so all the money wasted on PIP wasn't necessary!

I am sure there's more ways we could have saved money!

[MurderOfBanshees]

When I was 22 I moved across the country, away from my parents, to somewhere where I could get a decent job/afford rent. Surely most sane people would agree that was a sensible and adult thing to do?

I was living as an adult, bills, rent, contracts etc.

Then I got made redundant.

And the Tories think that suddenly I should have done what??

We were in the beginning of the recession, my parents couldn't have paid my bills/rent for me. I'd been working full time as long as I'd been legally able (and part time before that). I'd paid taxes and worked damn fucking hard. Just because I wasn't 25 didn't mean I was worth less.

[arethereanyleftatall]

If this policy does come in, and I do think it, or similar should, it should be in conjunction with those under 25a who are working, paying far less tax than current, and those under 18 should be paying none at all.

[LittleMissWise]

I hope this drags the young people out too, TheWhiteQueen.

[Coffeenowplease]

Rhianna

I did move out when I was financially ready. I also lost my job when I was 24. How is that my fault ? Or how is being entitled that I expect the same treatment as any other adult in this situation ?

Funny how they still want to tax anyone under 25 though. Have their cake and eating it or what ?

[Dawndonnaagain]

arethereany I left home at sixteen, knowing I would be safe because jsa was there. It meant I didn't have to be beaten up on a daily basis anymore, humiliated anymore, screamed and shouted at anymore. I wasn't the only one in that position, not the first, nor the last. I was lucky, I grew up in a time where you could leave a job on Friday and start a new one on Monday. That really is no longer the situation, so what is going to happen to the thousands of kids who know they can leave a dangerous environment and at least have something to eat for half of the week? Do they continue to be abused because the state does nothing, or do they have to get a non existent job first? Because let's face it, who is going to employ a skinny, smelly ragamuffin? As I said, I did get a job fairly quickly, but interestingly, I'd put a stone on in weight as well as having had baths/showers/hairwashes and some clean charity shop clothes.

[lottieandmia]

'I am actually getting frightened about the Tories getting in at the next election.'

I was frightened about them getting in at the last election. Arseholes.

[arethereanyleftatall]

I'm sorry to hear that dawndonna and I, obviously, want those in your situation, to have help.
I just really really don't want to continue paying for those who are able to and don't work, have never worked, and have no intention of working. This policy is trying to address that.

[utreas]

This is insane, there is so much wrong with it I don't where to start.

[lottieandmia]

'I lived in a country where there is no JSA available at all. People live with their parents and move out when they are financially ready.'

Some people's parents make them leave home at 16. Those people have no choice.

[arethereanyleftatall]

I would say that if a young person doesn't get a job, it's a fairly good indication that they have no intention of ever getting one.

[HorryIsUpduffed]

Really? I would say that if a young person isn't looking for a job then maybe they never will, but in case you hadn't noticed there are about ten applicants for every vacancy at the moment, rising to hundreds of applicants per vacancy in some fields (esp unskilled) and some regions.

[lottieandmia]

Exactly, they did not even get a majority. I can't stand them and their shitty backward proposals.