EU referendum, brexit and the aftermath

come on, i mean - it's not like she's flogging those cows to Iceland or Morrisons. They might end up on a ((bork)) lower income person's plate.

And as per the papers today, we need people to work in 'spoons.

2.6m claiming unemployment benefits.. I think Spoons should be fine. I could write for the mail..

Just as long as enough of that 2.6m are fit enough to work in hospitality, live in the right place and want to do the hours. Having worked in the industry I'd say that that was not my experience.

Unless I read this wrong you're also 1 million out: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peoplenotinwork/unemployment/timeseries/mgsc/unem

and the salary requirements.

Maybe they can be farmers and own 1600 acres of land and be poor.

*How many people are claiming out-of-work benefits?
The start of the pandemic saw a big increase in the number of people claiming out-of-work benefits - far more than the rise in the number of people counted as unemployed.

In April 2021 there were 2.6 million seeking either Jobseeker's Allowance or universal credit because they were "searching for work". This compares with 1.4 million in March 2020, before the pandemic began to take effect.*

The BBC cut of the ONS report above.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-52660591

The usual massage of structural unemployment. One of the reasons why those lower down the pecking order have probably experienced enough democracy without being taught more.

Claiming out of work benefits (which I assume includes people with disabilities) does not mean that you are available for work though. That cohort includes those working restricted hours, who may be for e.g. caring for children whilst working part time.

Counting them as potential workforce is misleading.

come on, i mean - it's not like she's flogging those cows to Iceland or Morrisons. They might end up on a ((bork)) lower income person's plate.

She wouldn’t do that to her animals, she loves them.

Hurricane_run's quote from the BBC explicitly says that those 2.6m are claiming because they are 'searching for work', though the full piece does go on to say that some are underemployed rather than unemployed, and the ONS can't break down the numbers.

I assume that those claiming because they are underemployed yet searching are looking for work with either more hours or more money

The thing that amazes me most was that chinless wonder waffling on about caring for the country like farming produces clean air and water.

Yes, that did grate slightly given the pollution of watercourses by farming due to nitrates and organophosphates. And as for 'making air' that doesn't even deserve a response.

But hey, that's democracy. Even morons get a vote.

Yeah, I don’t think that that’s necessarily true though.

Sorry.. my original comment was intended to be echo of the "there are plenty of unemployed people to do those jobs" view. The exact figure is unimportant in that respect.

However I do think the classification and fudging of the unemployment numbers are important in terms of Brexit. The headline rate of unemployment hides the vast number of people in the UK of working age who are dependant on the state benefit system. These people and the areas they live in have been failed by successive governments (both Labour and Tory). The inflationary pressures of the 70s, the deindustrialisation of the 80s, the globalisation of the 90s, mass Eastern EU national immigration in the 00s. My opinion is that these events affected the lowest in the pecking order most with no real mitigation by our elected governments. A ripe situation for the deplorables to vote fuck you for very rational reasons. Not moronic when the future can be no worse than the present.

Edit to add.. the farmers really were turkey's voting for christmas

I don't know enough about the UC claim process to do much more than take the BBC's words at face value.

I can only think of one person I know to be receiving UC while on a low wage (part-time retail), and I've got no idea whether that's claimed simply as an income support measure - for housing and childcare - or whether it's also supposed to be supporting a job search. I'd guess the former.

What is pretty shitty is that tax credits are much closer to a subsidy allowing employers to avoid paying a living wage, rather than to a top up helping to lift people out of poverty.

the future can be no worse than the present.

Anyone who believes that to be true shows a spectacular lack of imagination.

Forgot to mention tax credits above. A well intentioned effort to lift families out of poverty that created entrenched low wages.

Yes, the privatisation of the NHS is going to hit the poorest, hardest.

I have zero doubt that life is tough for a lot of people - 30% of our children are in poverty.

Add in dying from treatable illnesses because you can't afford health insurance to that...

Where do you live and how do you earn a living? Go and sit in a McDonalds in a post industrial town, let's say Motherwell.

@amey Who is the desired audience for that video content?

Play the ball, not the man. Anyone who thinks things can't get any worse obviously doesn't remember the very slightly better situation which existed prior to the Tories' austerity regime. Before they discovered the magic Covid money tree and gave it a good shake.

the future can be no worse than the present.

Anyone who believes that to be true shows a spectacular lack of imagination.

An optimist believes we live in the best of all possible worlds.

A pessimist fears that to be true.

Indeed. I can understand why people left behind by changing economic, social and political pressures might feel they have nothing to lose. I still think its a bit short-sighted to think that things couldn't be worse. Things are far worse than in this country in the vast majority of the world. There's no reason why the UK shouldn't be in the same position as other countries in far worse positions than us, unless you believe in British exceptionalism.

I've got no doubt at all it's likely to get worse for an awful lot of people in this country.

I fear you are absolutely right. And not entirely unexpectedly.

I've got no doubt at all it's likely to get worse for an awful lot of people in this country.

There have been some interesting comparisons of our current administration with Peronism, which ended in Argentina going from a standard of living roughly on parr with that of the contemporary US to something rather more challenging.