Lots of talk about:

  • “We’re the party of jobs” [well, if they’re Government jobs you’re paying for them out of my pocket]
  • “It’s unacceptable to refuse a job when it’s offered” [lots of people *aren’t* offered jobs]

I was chatting with a colleague about working hours - for 20+ years my working day has started between 4 a.m. and 8.30 a.m. and ended between 5 p.m and 10 p.m. His the same, except he’s had to work more overseas.

We discussed some of our acquaintances on jobseeker’s allowance or other benefits. Very many of them led what I’d call unstructured lives; often not getting up until lunchtime or afternoon, and then not getting to bed until the wee small hours. They seemed to become detached from wider society - not being much involved in what was going on around them. One didn’t know British airspace had been closed for over a week.

It’s hard to move from that sort of existence into a mainstream working existence. One suggestion made was to move to an earlier signing on, and a more frequent appearance at offices. It means you have to get up, get to a designated area and present yourself on time. Like you would have to for a job.

It’s not much of a step to suggesting that in exchange for your benefit, you spend some time doing work of benefit for the community - say 10 hours a week litter picking, graffiti cleaning - or working with some voluntary body, say the WI or “Friends” groups for your local hospital.

I don’t actually see why that’s wrong; if I’m paying you because you can’t find work [it’s not the government’s money, it’s mine, my neighbour’s, your mother’s], shouldn’t I hope that you’d spend your time doing something other than watching CSI reruns, at least some of the time?