Nick Clegg is rapidly becoming my favourite politician. Favourite in the sense that I like politicians who walk around with a sign on their backs saying 'kick me' or carry huge roundels, inviting you to aim for the massive red bit in the middle. All he needs to complete his image is a red nose and some big boots.
Clegg's major public appearance this week showed that there is no end to the rage of topics he can sound stupid on and no beginning to his knowledge of real people. He launched the Government's strategy for Social mobility, not with a bang, not even with a whimper, but the sound of someone hitting the floor having fallen over their own shoelace.
Nick told us all that there was a gap between rich and poor. Okay, am with him on that one. He also told us that this wasn't a good thing. Ooh, I thought, I'm warming to this. Then he gave us his ideas. And I felt like the victim of a lothario who promised a lot but delivered the most disappointing seven seconds of my life. Nick's answer to the social mobility problems of British society are all about offering 'internships' to working class children as well as the children of the privileged. I'll take a deep breath here.
Internships used to be called 'Work Experience' and used to be organised by schools (many still are). I spent a very turgid week in the Middlesbrough Council Rates Department, where I learnt valuable lessons. Like how boring it is to work in a Rates Department. When I worked in the NHS, I created an innovative programme which allowed young people access to work experience in the medical professions for the first time in North Staffordshire. I am still very proud of what I achieved there.
This week, however, Nick Clegg invented work experience. He involved some major companies, such as banks (who can see a sucker a mile off) and some large conglomerates. These won't just be in London, but all over the country. Oh yes. So a working class kid in Rochdale can go and work in the back office of a tiny branch of Barclays while someone who has access to Daddy's pad in the Docklands can work at their Head Office. But our esteemed Deputy Prime Minister assures us that this will close the gap between rich and poor. He also assured us that Barack Obama is white, the Pope is Jewish and all bears have en-suite.
If Nick Clegg was serious (come on, Liam, get real) about this, he would attempt to tackle some of the glaring inadequacies we see before us. Firstly, take Public Schools. One of the most obvious unfairnesses in British society is that these bastions of privilege and status have charitable status. Remove it, and remove it now. It is one of the most shameful episodes of the Blair and Brown years that this was not tackled then. Eton, Harrow, Winchester, Monmouth and the rest are not charities and it is about time we stopped pretending they are. Stop giving people tax relief on the money they spend sending their children to these schools and stop opening up new loopholes for the rich to exploit like George Osborne did in his recent budget. For those who missed it, families of people who leave part of their estate to charity will receive a 10% reduction in Inheritance Tax. That means if SirIvor Conn leaves a legacy to Eton, his grandchildren can receive their fees for free while the taxpayer funds their parents with a nice tax break. When the rich do it, it is called accountancy. If a similar thing happened on a council estate, it would be called fraud. The usual response to removing charitable status is that it would see people on more modest incomes priced out of the private market. Good. Thats what we have state schools for.
Judging everyone as equal before the law is another cause Nick Clegg may like to take up if he is serious about clawing back his rapidly disappearing credibility. In his diaries, Alan Clark explains how he once punched a contemporary, causing quite a lot of damage. He felt that his social status protected him. If he was a working class person doing the same, he would have been up before a judge. Things may have improved slightly in that respect, but not enough. The wealthy can still afford the best lawyers and, despite Chris Mullin's efforts, the network of Freemasons who obtain high office in this country can still make sure that a chap can receive another chance if he has the right credentials. And another, and another. An extension of no-win, no-fee to ensure that ALL lawyers have to undertake such cases as part of their state-paid for training would ensure that access widens. Those who think it is impossible need only look at the way NHS Consultants contracts have changed over the years.
To my mind, life should be like a horse race. Start everyone at the same point, and those with the best abilities will make most progress. The way we operate now, some people are allowed to start within sight of the finishing line. Nick Clegg himself is a case in point. Given a great deal of advantages (private education, a hand-up onto the career ladder, financial assistance), he made it to the second top job in British politics. The fact that he is making such a mess of it that he makes Harriet Harman look competent should prove that the way of life he represents and is unwittingly defending has truly run its course.
Clegg's major public appearance this week showed that there is no end to the rage of topics he can sound stupid on and no beginning to his knowledge of real people. He launched the Government's strategy for Social mobility, not with a bang, not even with a whimper, but the sound of someone hitting the floor having fallen over their own shoelace.
Nick told us all that there was a gap between rich and poor. Okay, am with him on that one. He also told us that this wasn't a good thing. Ooh, I thought, I'm warming to this. Then he gave us his ideas. And I felt like the victim of a lothario who promised a lot but delivered the most disappointing seven seconds of my life. Nick's answer to the social mobility problems of British society are all about offering 'internships' to working class children as well as the children of the privileged. I'll take a deep breath here.
Internships used to be called 'Work Experience' and used to be organised by schools (many still are). I spent a very turgid week in the Middlesbrough Council Rates Department, where I learnt valuable lessons. Like how boring it is to work in a Rates Department. When I worked in the NHS, I created an innovative programme which allowed young people access to work experience in the medical professions for the first time in North Staffordshire. I am still very proud of what I achieved there.
This week, however, Nick Clegg invented work experience. He involved some major companies, such as banks (who can see a sucker a mile off) and some large conglomerates. These won't just be in London, but all over the country. Oh yes. So a working class kid in Rochdale can go and work in the back office of a tiny branch of Barclays while someone who has access to Daddy's pad in the Docklands can work at their Head Office. But our esteemed Deputy Prime Minister assures us that this will close the gap between rich and poor. He also assured us that Barack Obama is white, the Pope is Jewish and all bears have en-suite.
If Nick Clegg was serious (come on, Liam, get real) about this, he would attempt to tackle some of the glaring inadequacies we see before us. Firstly, take Public Schools. One of the most obvious unfairnesses in British society is that these bastions of privilege and status have charitable status. Remove it, and remove it now. It is one of the most shameful episodes of the Blair and Brown years that this was not tackled then. Eton, Harrow, Winchester, Monmouth and the rest are not charities and it is about time we stopped pretending they are. Stop giving people tax relief on the money they spend sending their children to these schools and stop opening up new loopholes for the rich to exploit like George Osborne did in his recent budget. For those who missed it, families of people who leave part of their estate to charity will receive a 10% reduction in Inheritance Tax. That means if SirIvor Conn leaves a legacy to Eton, his grandchildren can receive their fees for free while the taxpayer funds their parents with a nice tax break. When the rich do it, it is called accountancy. If a similar thing happened on a council estate, it would be called fraud. The usual response to removing charitable status is that it would see people on more modest incomes priced out of the private market. Good. Thats what we have state schools for.
Judging everyone as equal before the law is another cause Nick Clegg may like to take up if he is serious about clawing back his rapidly disappearing credibility. In his diaries, Alan Clark explains how he once punched a contemporary, causing quite a lot of damage. He felt that his social status protected him. If he was a working class person doing the same, he would have been up before a judge. Things may have improved slightly in that respect, but not enough. The wealthy can still afford the best lawyers and, despite Chris Mullin's efforts, the network of Freemasons who obtain high office in this country can still make sure that a chap can receive another chance if he has the right credentials. And another, and another. An extension of no-win, no-fee to ensure that ALL lawyers have to undertake such cases as part of their state-paid for training would ensure that access widens. Those who think it is impossible need only look at the way NHS Consultants contracts have changed over the years.
To my mind, life should be like a horse race. Start everyone at the same point, and those with the best abilities will make most progress. The way we operate now, some people are allowed to start within sight of the finishing line. Nick Clegg himself is a case in point. Given a great deal of advantages (private education, a hand-up onto the career ladder, financial assistance), he made it to the second top job in British politics. The fact that he is making such a mess of it that he makes Harriet Harman look competent should prove that the way of life he represents and is unwittingly defending has truly run its course.
Free masonry has nothing to do with anything that you are trying to say. I'd worry more about Bridge Clubs, hunt meets and the like.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, nice to see we have broadly similar views on Mr Clegg, who is woefully out of his depth and an indication as to the future of politics if we continue to vote based on looks and 'charisma' and not policy in this country.
Not too many kids from Council Estates being invited into the 'Brotherhood' are there, Mark? As will all 'exclusive' clubs, they act as a barrier to social mobility, hence the point about their unhealthy effect on society.
ReplyDeleteOn your second point, I'm thinking of setting up a 'Cleggometer' to measure how far he has fallen in the public estimation (qv!).