The Green Benches

While I am utterly against almost anything that the DM says I would like to inquire if you have the breakdowns of British unemployed by ethnic group. I suspect that in this case we would see an over representation of immigrant parents in poor inner city areas.It is an important point as it would tell the story in a more complete way.

We all know the problems that all of our children are having with good affordable accommodation, working conditions and wages. Migration, while as I say, I have not axe to grind on a cultural level, must have some effect on the willingness or otherwise of companies and corporations to offer a living wage to their staff. In effect companies and corporations are taking advantage of the poverty in other less well off countries by encouraging people (mostly young and active) to come to this country to make a little money. They, the corporations, do this in exactly the same way as they do when they off shore altogether. In this case it is work that requires their presence but the rule still applies. Many of these young kids come here thinking they will live a bit rough in HMO's, make a bit of money and return home. They may even stick to the plan and it may help them but what does it do to the the internal job market for all of our young unemployed. It is all very well for employers to trot out the old flannel that 'young people in this country do not want to work' but could this have anything to do with the divide between what it costs to build a life at something resembling a reasonable standard of life and the rates of pay offered. The thing is that not everyone is a genius but just because of that should they have no opportunity to a fare wage? The statistics you provide are, although the opposite in nature to anything in the DM, just as misleading. If you were being entirely honest you would provide resolution to the figures. That's what I find so often, point scoring between right and left and thats getting us nowhere.

Although at the opposite end of the spectrum Another factor is that of Training and Education. I have one personal story that exemplifies the situation. My daughter, has a degree in archaeology, even with much help it has left her with about £12,000 in student debts. Before the crash she obtained work (on 3 month (reducing to 2 week contracts)) as an archaeologist with a well known London museum. During her time there she had a supervisor. Her supervisor was Polish, she was the supervisor because she had a masters degree. While my daughter had a degree she did not go on to her masters for one simple reason, she would have had to fund the thing entirely by herself. On the other hand her supervisor paid nothing for her degree or her masters. Now I here that EU students can get free education in Scotland and not English Students, is this right or just another DM lie?

Going further down the education scale I have one last point, whatever happened to all our builders? At one time we had an over supply of these skills and now we cant even supply enough for the building that is still going on in these depressed times. It doesn't make any sense.

A full and honest discussion is in order please, not skewed incomplete statistics, whatever they appear to represent.

In my last comment I meant, the children of immigrant parents, not immigrant parents, as I wrote and found when I pasted into a notepad. If you use the comment could you kindly.

Regards, Trevor