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Analogous to Mencken's description of puritanism as "the haunting fear that someone somewhere may be happy".

It's just something Italians are apt to say by way of approbation ☺️

Didn't Nigel excuse his receiving £5 million on the grounds that it was just a gift and not a payment for services rendered, i.e. something for nothing?

Nige got £5m for nothing. Is that why the media are tracking and reporting his every move?

People should be paid to do those jobs, not punished by doing something that improves the “public realm”. There is a nasty snobbery about this idea. Not surprised though, Farage is ghastly.

And where are all the supervisors and projects going to come from?

Farage is right. It’s time to end “something for nothing” Britain. Here’s the first candidate for 20 hrs weekly community service. www.bbc.com/news/article...

20 hours a week is a lot of work to find for somebody with mild-moderate SEN who can pot up and water tomatoes without supervision, but isn't able to use machinery, to give you but one example.

I've been wondering lately what sense "work requirements" actually makes. This nails it. Do we set up a big expensive bureaucracy to do the job? NO -- we spend as little as possible, and just cut at every opportunity. It's a fraud.

Reform only really have one policy. It's performative cruelty for anyone their scumbag fans hate.

Get bribed for £5m shortly before you try for the 8th time to be elected though and that's no-ones business and should be brushed under the carpet. I really do hope we get to see his downfall that's as ugly and black as his heart is

It’s only a headline policy. That is, a policy that has no substance beyond the headline it gets because it hasn’t been remotely thought through.

"Common sense" = superficial, simple answers to complex problems. Used by people who don't want to think too hard....or, as in this case,don't want others to think too hard

Yep. That's FRT (Far Right Troll) thinking in a nutshell.

Logistical question, how is someone supposed to look for/train for the work that fits them best if twenty hours a week are taken up being punished by Farage? 🤦🏻‍♀️

The household budget analogy glosses over households having a mortgage, and hence debt for investment. Traditional conservatism appeals most strongly to people who are too rich or too old to have a mortgage. Right-wing populism attempts to also retail it to people who are too poor to get a mortgage.

So kind of you to say, thank you!

We want to end “Something for nothing” Nigel. Make him do his job as an MP instead of swanning about enriching himself

Plus you're going to upset all those pensioners.

klaxon klaxon *COMMON SENSE INVOKED*

Sorry, Nige, I've got interviews on those days.

You miss the point: no bureaucracy, just private companies to 'manage' it all who will be paid megabucks

Presumably this is a response to the major changes in the immigration narrative. Maybe we should be pleased that they have not pivoted to threats of deporting any person of colour?

Read it first time as thought they hadn't decided yet exactly *what* they were going to end for zero cost, but that they were sure they'd end *something*...

Says Farage, a man (of sorts) who doesn’t turn up to his £98000 job for 70% of the time

"nuance at this time of day , in this place , all localised in your thread?" - superintendent chalmers

A particular issue with this type, noted in evaluations from DWP itself, is it reduces time available to undertake training or job searches.

Person A must find tasks for Person B and C. Person B is tasked with monitoring that Person A is working hard. Person C is tasked with monitoring whether Person B is sufficiently dilligent in monitoring Person A. We have solved economics!

Even setting the travel aside, so now Berwick Council, presumably, has to find make-work jobs for the unemployed of the entire region. Keeping track of how many hours they've worked, when they've failed to show up, dealing with sick notes etc. How? With what resources?

This is an idea of a wannabe government in waiting, not an actual government. It's goal is not to get people into jobs, it's goal is to get Reform candidates into parliament (ironically). They would have to be wilfully stupid to attempt to implement it once in power, ethics of it notwithstanding.

Build a Workhouse where all the Despicables for the whole area can be relocated and forced to work perhaps crushing bones for fertiliser (yes, it did happen)

I imagine those 3 people would be made to travel to Morpeth, Blythe, even Newcastle to complete it. On virtually non existant public transport, that would lead them to getting sanctioned for lateness or absenteeism, which would then lead to prison as a lesson to others. Daily Mail would be ecstatic

Surely there's some okum they could pick at home? Or mail bags they could sew?

And, obviously, there would be no knock-on effects on employment from having the "workshy" staff libraries.

I'm reminded of Beria trying to shut down The Gulag as soon as Stalin died because the cost of paying the guards made the system unprofitable.

It isn't about saving money, the sole purpose is punitive. Punishing people for being on benefits to the point they either stop taking benefits or kill themselves. Passive eugenics.

I'll just say, UBI. Even if just because lots of people would be getting something for nothing, and Farage's head would explode.

What baffles me is all this talk about cutting the welfare bill, ok you do that and what are you going to spend all the money from cuts? Servicing the national debt, investment? Into what?

I think it will work… So long as community service consists of doing exactly what Nigel did to get paid his secret £5 million. What was that again? Seems highly effective, we should scale it.

A national folly building service. That seems to be the traditional solution.

The average Reform supporter would _love_ that job. Many of them are retired and would do it for nothing just for the sadism.

As a country we're obsessed with the idea that if one person out of 100 is maybe, possibly on the take we should make things as difficult as possible for the 99 no matter how stupid and costly that is to put into practise. Everyone must suffer because of the suspicion around the 1%.

How about a law that prevents MPs from getting their salaries for nothing? Easy to enforce, cheap to implement. What's not to like?

In the US, we passed the work requirement, did nothing to provide the community work opportunities, and so a massive number of folks couldn't volunteer, and lost their food assistance One party is saying they've 'liberated 5 million people' from food assistance Maybe that's the plan over yonder?

It’s very easy to grab a headline. That takes seconds.

Consistently with Reform policies is the underlying aim to create a vast and cost free workforce for their donors.

Unfortunately, with Reform voters, the cruelty is usually the point I’d bet a good percentage would clap like demented seals at the idea of ‘UC/PIP chain gangs’. The more degrading, the better

Farage would love to establish a Ministry of Fear.

I’d rather the end of . ‘something for nothing’ Reform

Surely it would be better to help them get a real job. If they exist of course. And still begs the question of how you define 'fit for work'

Exactly!!! And yet our supine media are happy to act as megaphone for this BS!!

Should go down really well with the affluent and privileged of Clacton.

Well yes but Capita or SERCO will be happy to provide that service for an unreasonable fee using their super AI tools just to ensure this massive bureaucracy doesn't create any real jobs and dent profits

“That’s just common sense”

And prevent them from finding full time work…..

As Timothy Snyder puts it, sadopopulism.

they probably imagine it something like this...

If we’re talking ‘something for nothing’ does that mean I can now invoice the government - of any colour - for the hours of unpaid care I provide to 3 family members? Millions of us are providing care, cannot work, and receive benefits. When would Farage like me to squeeze in those 20 hours a week?

It would never work. There wouldn't be enough people to administer & supervise it. You can foresee someone who misses a session having their benefits stopped, like already happens with UC, even if for a valid reason like being unwell or going into hospital. 1000s would end up penniless.

Farage has yet to adequately, or consistently, explain what his £5 million 'gift' was for. It couldn't possibly be 'something for nothing', because he's *totally* against that. So, what was it for?

Reform's proposal is very poorly thought out, and wouldn't work except as visible punishment, unlike the Community Employment Scheme that provides genuine benefits to participants and community groups.

And yet Farage draws a salary as an MP but doesn't hold surgeries in Clacton or turn up for debates/votes in Westminster. Apparently did the same as an MEP. Sounds like a case of 'ok for me, but not for thee.'

So, so extremely curious to know how such a "workfare" system would possibly lower the overall benefits bill

The boat people thing went so well they're looking to Australia for other ways to punish disadvantaged people now.

Isn't that proposal essentially employing millions to work for the government? That's rather communist, isn't it, Fartrage, you disgusting turd?

Totally unworkable that is apart from the cruelty

Yes but the wont will they? They will just stop all benefits after a year... they dont have the intelligence to deliver on even their nastiest policies

Would people who have been sentenced by the courts to community service have to do two lots of it to quality for benefits?

Almost literally a "make work scheme".

Better end commodities markets, hedge funds and shareholding if you want to get rid of "something for nothing" culture then.

£5 Million for Brexshit. Now that’s definitely a lot of something for a very big nothing.

Another dumb idea directly cribbed from the US.