New Labour Slave Labour?

Desperate and despairing youngsters could be forced out of the classroom and onto the streets as part of a half-baked slave labour plan to enlist them into community service. Working on Brown's chain gang is not cool for kids. 

Youngsters are having a hard time under New Labour, forced to stay on at school, taking worthless Mickey Mouse qualifications, without a cat in hell's chance of getting a job. 

Now help is at hand from the Supreme Leader, with a £146m community work scheme for England's 16 to 19-year-olds.

Fresh from his silly YouTube 'sensation' with a cunning political plan for MPs' expenses fiddles, the prime minister has once again upheld the finest traditions of our ancient democracy - by announcing a major community policy plan by podcast on his personal Downing Street web site. 

Launching the charm offensive in a tedious drone, Mr Cool said:  “I want everyone to have this opportunity and I want everyone to get involved.” Well bully for Brown. 

The pet project, run by 'smearing' Balls' stalinesque department for children, schools, families and back-stabbing, starting in September, includes "helping the elderly and the environment", leading to yet another useless piece of paper dressed up as a "professional qualification". 

But here's the rub: "It could eventually become a compulsory part of the school curriculum."

Forcing every youngster to do at least 50 hours of community service is all part of the Brown "good citizenship" drive, already trailed in the News of the Screws of all places, earlier this month. 

Good citizenship or indoctrination? Even Claire in the Community would be hard-pressed to dream up such a silly scheme.

Has anyone stopped to think this through? 

Forcing young people under 18 to do the work of the caring professions, unpaid, smacks of cheap labour. 

These are youngsters, under 18, going into the homes of the weak and vulnerable. Youngsters would be sent out onto the streets, cast adrift without a nod to a duty of care. 

What resources have been earmarked to back up the plan? How will hard-pressed teachers cope with the extra load of supervising and placing the youngsters without adequate and expensive support and resources. 

In the community, what extra resources will be given the social and community services already under fire as the care culture crumbles. 

People young and old will suffer in the recession depression. Extra help and training for young people is crucial. 

But where has the government been for the last ten booming bloomin' years? 

Turning a blind eye to the plight of the 16-19 year old Neets who are not in education, employment or training, they've been used as a pawn to  fiddle the dole figures. 

Young people need hope and they can get that through good, sound school education and the real chance of a proper job or meaningful further education at the end of it. 

But the plan is starting to unfold. Simple ply them with cheap supermarket booze and unrestricted licensing hours and let them sink into oblivion. Then round them up with a monumental hang-over, put them to work on the community chain gang and force them into slave labour to pay for their sins.