Tebbit says young unemployed should pull weeds for benefits.

As well as the young unemployed he also thinks criminals should pull weeds thus equating in a stroke criminals and those on benefits. No surprise there then.

Surely if there is a need for weeds to be pulled then people should be employed to do it, at or above NMW, otherwise any job that is in some way menial could be taken from the person employed to do it and given to an unemployed person or criminal at a cheap rate. I bet employers can't wait.

As for the weed in question....I deliberately grow it. It's great for bees and cinnabar moths and butterflies and I can think of a lot more useless things that could be eradicated.....such as Lord Tebbit.

Horses rarely die from eating ragwort unless they are forced to eat it because of lack of proper pasture, even then most deaths occur from horses eating dried ragwort which has been dug up, cut down or killed and left in the field. Ragwort is an important part of our native biodiversity, supports 30 species of insects and helps to sustain the now fragile bee populations that we need to pollinate crops.

The point he is making is perfectly valid. It is inhuman and cruel to allow people, particularly young people to sit at home doing nothing and drawing benefits. All UK citizens should be required to work as long as they are capable of doing so.

The point he is making is perfectly valid. It is inhuman and cruel to allow people, particularly young people to sit at home doing nothing and drawing benefits. All UK citizens should be required to work as long as they are capable of doing so.

The point he is making is perfectly valid. It is inhuman and cruel to allow people, particularly young people to sit at home doing nothing and drawing benefits. All UK citizens should be required to work as long as they are capable of doing so.

If there is work to do then they should be paid the NMW, however the Tories love to stigmatise the people unfortunate enough to be on benefits.

Good idea. Seeing people rotting at home is depressing for them depressing for the rest of us.

Also it may encourage them to actually get a job rather than us importing people from all over the world to do jobs we can't fill.

Let's try to get a work culture running again.

---------- Post added 22-10-2014 at 18:36 ----------

If there is work to do then they should be paid the NMW, however the Tories love to stigmatise the people unfortunate enough to be on benefits.

How is he stigmatising them?

I'm a tory pretty much I don't stigmatise the unemployed.

I don't think its a bad idea.

No need to pay a minimum wage to do a job that otherwise doesn't get done.

If/when I'm unemployed I'd have no qualms about giving something back and keeping busy by doing menial work for free. I've done as much in the past.

Let's get something straight shall we, all the unemployed, regardless of age, go on courses continuously. After three months it's for 15 hours a week, then if they haven't found work then, it's for 30 hours a week.

Putting everyone on a course was to weed out those who were working and signing on. No show, no dole.

If there is work to do then they should be paid the NMW, however the Tories love to stigmatise the people unfortunate enough to be on benefits.

I notice we never level that comment at the volunteers working for charities or fundraising for charities(including unemployed). Those people are happy to work for free, so why not volunteer to pick weeds or mend fences.

Good idea. Seeing people rotting at home is depressing for them depressing for the rest of us.

Also it may encourage them to actually get a job rather than us importing people from all over the world to do jobs we can't fill.

 

Let's try to get a work culture running again.

 

---------- Post added 22-10-2014 at 18:36 ----------

 

 

How is he stigmatising them?

I'm a tory pretty much I don't stigmatise the unemployed.

As taxman said it is equating them with people on community service who are doing it as a sentence.

As regarding the volunteers as mentioned by Willman they are volunteers they want to do it, people should not be forced to do jobs unless they are paid for it. If people want those on benefits to work for it then fair enough, divide their benefit by the NMW and that is the number of hours they work.

As taxman said it is equating them with people on community service who are doing it as a sentence.

As regarding the volunteers as mentioned by Willman they are volunteers they want to do it, people should not be forced to do jobs unless they are paid for it. If people want those on benefits to work for it then fair enough, divide their benefit by the NMW and that is the number of hours they work.

I'm not sure he was equating them with low level criminals I see that they are mentioned in the left wing rag, but I would like to hear/see his exact quote in context to judge for myself. If he was equating them then it would be wrong on his part in my view.

I don't think someone on benefits should earn as much as someone doing a job, so I cannot agree with your suggestion of paying them NMW.

It's the sort of thing you'd expect to hear from a crazy old fruitcake!

I'm not sure he was equating them with low level criminals I see that they are mentioned in the left wing rag, but I would like to hear/see his exact quote in context to judge for myself. If he was equating them then it would be wrong on his part in my view.

 

I don't think someone on benefits should earn as much as someone doing a job, so I cannot agree with your suggestion of paying them NMW.

Eh? But they would be doing a job - we could call them oooh, I don't know, gardening maintainance operatives. It's a job. Pay them. There plenty of far more frivolous occupations that get paid, why not weeding?