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Tory MP says we need “chain gangs” to tackle litter

7th April, 2012 9:54 am

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Has Tory MP Andrew Percy been watching “O Brother, Where Art Though?” this Easter? He asked The Telegraph:

“In the US I have seen chain gangs out clearing highways – why can’t we do that here?”

Update: Percy has been in touch on Twitter. He says “Alas, my suggestion is work crews for prisoners nearing release to do social good. Would also help return to soc – no chains!!”

How silly of us to get confused by his use of the term “chain gangs”…

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  • Don’t Community Service Orders already exist in the UK ?

    I’m pretty sure Andrew Percy doesn’t literally demand people be in chains.

    • treborc

       Well if he used prisoners he would or the sick or the disabled perhaps or of course dole scroungers, I’m waiting now for labour to be waiting to see what the public think before Miliband says anything. The Daily Mail will be used as a guide.

    • AlanGiles

      Nick: If Percy wants to return to the past, I think every MP who got caught up, or will get caught up in the future fiddling expenses ought to be put in the stocks. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than throwing a rotten tomato or a bad egg at Hazel Blears, Gerald Kauffmann or Michael Gove and Chris Grayling

      • derek

        I’m up for that @Alan but I might just squeeze a stone into those tomatoes.  

        • treborc

           You use a stone Ill just use a plain old brick, and if Purnell is around a concrete block

          • derek

            LoL Trebroc!

  • treborc

     Benefits claimants will be forced to pick up litter and clean off
    graffiti under radical U.S.-style welfare reforms designed to get
    millions back into work.
    Anyone on the dole for more than two
    years will be made to take full-time community jobs in return for their
    weekly handout, signing in each day.
    Those claiming for 12 months will have to do four weeks’ work in their neighbourhood, or be stripped of their payments.Other
    measures provide for private firms and voluntary organisations to be
    given cash incentives to find work for those on benefit.Single
    parents will be expected to find a job when their youngest child reaches
    the age of seven, and drug addicts will have to receive treatment as a
    condition of claiming benefits.
    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1036853/Work–lose-handouts-Jobless-pick-litter-earn-benefit.html#ixzz1rLVCtbtkFunny old world of Newer labour, go look at Miliband speech and see how he thinks people should work, the nice man who was disabled, he could be  doing something, of course I could as well, but labour pretend get back to work was nothing but a money making racket for Remploy and A4e and Shaw Trust, who took the  money but failed to find anyone work.labour Tory the difference is in the colour of the ties, well not any more.Hutton Frankie the bit your legs Field, Purnell and of course the biggest socialist of all time Freud or is that fraud, but the biggest culprits are new labour, and boy somebody gave life support to New labour after Miliband killed it.The Tories are just doing what Labour would have done, will do.

    • Alexwilliamz

      This is worthwhile work that helps improve the environment, surely therefore it should be paid work. Why can’t we create numerous part time jobs (say 3 days a week) that provide stepping stones into other jobs, and provide the longer term unemployed an opportunity to gain work experience, self respect etc etc. 

    • smcconnell

      Dear god!

      You mean actually contributing to society in some fashion in return for the benefits they normally get for sleeping in till noon and going to the odd training course? What a cruel and unjust notion!

      Dont they know it is everyones god given right to sit around scratching their bum while some other actual working class idiots work themself to death to provide the taxs that go towards their welfare payments?

      And all the while the labour tribalists will ignore it and blather o

      • Trudge74 as alexwilliamz

        The exchange of labour for money is a very simple foundation for most economic systems. Why not simply pay people wages for doing these tasks?

        • smcconnell

          Its a bit of a six of one, half a dozen of the other. You could just employ the unemployed to fo these jobs but then you would have to get them to give up the benefits to do it anyway but to get them to do that you have to force them so….

      • AlanGiles

        Here we go again: The turgid voice of the Daily Mail reader. Everybody who is unemployed stays in bed till noon (have you ever been past a JobCentre before 9 in the morning and see people queuing up? – I have). As for your second paragraph about where they “sratch” – don’t judge everybody down to your own standards. Just because you might do such a thing while composing your rancid little LL messages, doesn’t mean to say everybody does.

        • smcconnell

          Hmmm lets see….

          There are how many million unemployed currently in the uk? And how many job centres in the uk?

          And they all turn up to a job centre every morning at 9am sharp?

          That must be a damn big queue!

          • AlanGiles

            I think you are either being deliberately obtuse or you have had your brain removed.

            If you go past Job Centres at all regularly you will see there are people outside every morning waiting for them to open at 9.00. That is certainly the case in the town I live in, and I can assure you they are not standing there in their pyjamas.

            Just another of your ridiculous generalisations and as you haven’t got a sensible answer you just daub another of your childish little jibes instead. Typical.

          • smcconnell

            On the contrary your answer is typical of your “i know an illiterate boy who works really had so they must all be really hardworking” drivel.

            So what if you turn up to a job centre on a few days of the week for a couple of hours? I turn up to work at 8am every weekday as do most people.

            They still have a damn sight more free time and lie ins then someone in full time employment!

            If someone worked hard one day a week for a few hours and spent the rest as leisure time would you describe them as hardworking?

          • AlanGiles

            Drivel is a very good word to describe your own ramblings.

            As for “If someone worked hard one day a week for a few hours and spent the rest as leisure time would you describe them as hardworking?

            I suggest that you ask Guy – he is the expert on that. I can only say that I used to work 6 days a week quite regularly (and started slightly earlier than the time you mention), but just because I did, that doesn’t give me the right to expect everyone else to do the same.

            You sound as if you have a right chip on your shoulder. I’m sorry if life has not been kind to you, but why not try to lighten up a bit?

  • I’m a labour voter and I think this is a good idea. I would say that there have been a few sentences handed out recently that could be dealth with by getting people to tidy up litter and clean up graffiti.

    I personally think the 56 day prison sentence who made the racist remarks on twitter about Fabrice Muamba was a bit harsh. Yes what he said was abhorrent but he has already been thrown out of university and I think in this case he should have been made to work a community sentence.

    • treborc

       The big problem right now is simple what everything the Tories do or say labour have to check to see if they have said it or  done it before, even to the checking of  peoples emails to phone taps to  spying on   parents to see which schools the family want  the kids to go to.

      the sad part so far nearly everything the Tories say they would or will do labour has tried it

    • Alexwilliamz

      I thought it already happened. Hasn’t litter picking been a component of community service in many cases?

  • Jeff_Harvey

    Chain gangs? I believe the correct euphemism is “work experience” in the UK these days isn’t it?

    • AlanGiles

      Cameron and his chums are determined to take us back to the sixties – the 1860s.

  • Hamish

    What next?  Tories eat babies for breakfast?
    Mark, you have written some cracking articles recently, but this is not worthy of being served up anonymously under the category News.

  • derek

    The Tories just can’t get anything right, If the boat race was the shape of things to come then the Olympics will be carry on Olympians.

    • treborc

       I hope not because of the hard work people put in from all countries where they do not get £130,000 to train.

  • smcconnell

    On about raising taxes to maintain this situation because the permanently unemployed are of course a massive part of labours core vote even when the actual working class abandon them because they dont do anything to represent the interests of people who do actually get up and go to work in the morning.

  • Patricia Shepherd.

    Why do all the tory trolls post here,are they too scared to post on their own websites .
       As for all the talk of chaingangs,my god,how much more of the USA is cameron going to bring over here,the man is obsessed,if he loves them that much why doesn’t he go and live there,please dear god,just go!!

    • GuyM

      I’m far happier with more of the US over here than Europe.

    • GuyM

      I’m far happier with more of the US over here than Europe.

  • Patricia Shepherd.

    Why do all the tory trolls post here,are they too scared to post on their own websites .
       As for all the talk of chaingangs,my god,how much more of the USA is cameron going to bring over here,the man is obsessed,if he loves them that much why doesn’t he go and live there,please dear god,just go!!

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