Cowley Street’s Army of Interns (Unpaid)
The government is this morning encouraging us to blow the whistle on unpaid work placements. Social mobility is apparently being hindered by unpaid internships and Nick Clegg is clamping down. Allow Guido to blow the first of such whistles.
Co-conspirators have pointed out that yesterday the LibDems published their internship scheme online:
“Our internships are short, intensive volunteer placements that offer you the opportunity to gain experience of the practical and professional side of Party politics, giving you the chance to join the team at Liberal Democrat HQ and parliament and experience life at the heart of Westminster.”
Guido’s emphasis. And it’s not just a couple of kids helping out with stuffing envelopes, there are graduate interns in the following departments:
“Campaigns, Policy (x3), Media, Fundraising, Chief Executive’s Department, Diversity, Liberal Youth, Membership and Development, Parliamentary Whips’ Offices (x3 Commons and Lords).”
Guido has asked for confirmation of just how many of these “volunteers” are in Cowley Street at anyone time. So everyone else has to pay the minimum wage for their staff, except the LibDems who run their party machine for free?
UPDATE: Cowley Street squirmed a little on the line before doing a quick headcount. Apparently there is only one intern in the office today, and though they are not on a wage the spinner was quick to stress they are getting expenses. Which makes everything ok.
British jobs for British workers.
Bigoted man.
How about former Lib MPs acting as SPADs for ministers?? How about a fair impartial investigation of David Laws? How about an independent IPSA rather than Cameron making threats to it so it caves in and gives greedy selfish MPs an increase in expenses, staff allowance( as they employ their spouses), how about the safe seats found for potential MPs for services rendered? Is this what Clegg means by fair and acting on merit? Or does he mean dumbing down university education by giving students places when they have lower grades than their counter part? Or, does he mean providing free university education to European students (our competitors) in Scotland when English students are expected to pay £9,000 per year? MPs found jobs to boost their income in Europe or the Lords? Mps having other jobs or acting for interested groups or lobbyists? When is he going to clean up politics? No more tuition fees. The man is a liar. He should not be believed, if there was a right to recall he would be one of the first to go. He simply does not possess the qualities to hold public office.
We don’t want too many workers in Sheffield getting jobs
They could start by looking at the way that Ryanair and Easyjet use inexperienced pilots to fly unpaid to gain experience.
Is that young Laws one of the interns these days?
He was an unpaid staffer in the beginning.
aint they all it tho?
Sorry, Billy. You’ve lost me with this one.
Guido , I know you are not a Cricket fan , But after your countries impressive perfomances at the World Cup , Ireland and getting a kick in the bollocks by the ICC , I do hope you maybe use some of your resources to uncover the dodgy deals at the ICC and give Ireland the chance to progress.
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12341_6852752,00.html
Ps ICC is not the Internatnal crimanial court but the Internatnal Cricket Council.
I posted this on the last thread but then you put up a new one so am re-posting apologies if it pissed anyone off.
there’s only one person I know of who can bowl two balls at once Billy….
I agree with Billy. Despite being a cricket-fan and English, it was a delight to see the ‘underdog’ Irish team beat England so well.
The future Cricket World Cup will be diminished by excluding those smaller nations which, although having lower chances of winning the whole event, add considerable colour whenever they play.
Cricket should be trying to expand its reach, rather than restricting it to the old (and increasingly corrupt) colonial base – if they ever got the USA in it, can you imagine excluding them from the World Cup ? So why threaten Ireland, Scotland, Holland, Kenya or other aspiring nations ? They need a hand up, not a kick down.
It also means that Ireland will continue having thier best players poached by England because they are even further away from playing full test cricket .
I could go on about not getting paid to write this comment but I actually see it as an opportunity to achieve something great for my country
Clegg’s a hypocrite? Who knew?
The labourer is worthy of his hire. There are exceptions to every rule….
Its OK.
Doing a free internship for the LibDems is not a fast track into the higher eschelons (?) of society.
Given previous reports in this organ about the Parliamentary Estate, the greatest benefit for interns might be increased leg-over opportunities. (Other interns might fnd the greatest drag of the job is trying to avoid the ‘offers’.)
Does it matter?
If some graduate is stupid enough to work for nothing at the liberal party. Then tough titty, he’s getting exactly what he deserves. Nothing.
A fast track to being a failed candidate for local council elections in Slough.
(Other dull or odd sounding towns are available.)
But aint this the big society in action?
…and that excludes the number of unpaid interns in MP’s offices.
Lib Dem MPs stuff their offices full of them.
and they probably stuff their orifices too
I see sugar is up
Looking on the bright side. These graduates will not have to pay a single penny off on their student loans.
and that’s good because?
Internships are a sign that University isn’t preparing anyone in any way for life after uni.
No.
Its a sign that the job market has gone a hell of a long way in the favour of certain employers.
And quite frankly would you really want university to prepare people for life as a Libdem(/any) politician? BBC employee? Advertising?
Hum. But Guido offers unpaid internships for budding journo hacks…Isn’t it hypocritical for him to attack people for doing what he also does?
CallMeDave on television now giving our tax money to Pakistan.
But that £650m is peanuts compared to the dodgy Benefit Money shipped out there every year from Bradford alone……..
Did they not get the memo?
http://www.w4mp.org/html/personnel/jobs/disp_job.asp?ref=29072
http://www.w4mp.org/html/personnel/jobs/disp_job.asp?ref=28986
http://www.w4mp.org/html/personnel/jobs/disp_job.asp?ref=28970
etc
Not only that but Nick is going to stop nepotism single handed.
He, the son of a Banker, privileged education, ex MEP is advocating pulling up the ladder now.
Should get all the votes of the underprivileged, you think?
Remind me again about Cleggs multi millionaire banking family….no leg up for Clegg voer along the way?
The sooner he is dispatched to his beloved Europe the better – the guy is a complete arse.
Once Clegg is no longer rusty Daves shiled after May, then the real work of removing Cameron from the Tory Party can begin.
Blue Labour out.
Hate to say this , But he cant help what his parents did for a living.
quite
try telling that to prince charle then
Prime Minister, David Cameron, has travelled to Pakistan today.
He caught the train to Leeds, a bus to Pudsey, then finished the journey by elephant.
Guido, How is it i can see this modded comment , But didnt write it
The word that got the monkier thief modded was P*kistan , most window lickers know that.
So that’s why this was modded
“CallMeDave on television now giving our tax money to P*kistan.”
Ah, those monkey thieves – they’re everywhere.
Perhaps this is where Gordon will go when he is freed from this current employment
I’m still here.
Now we know why, your surname matches the colour of the Un-flushable Turd!
Perhaps they should reclassify the posts and charge for training – might even get a government grant!
“…they are getting expenses…”
To be fair, if these interns are on “parliamentary” expenses then they’ll be living pretty high on the hog, and running second homes.
Was Billy one of those annoying little know it all squirts who always had his hand up first in class, but never behind the bike shed?
Diversity?
I’m surprised they haven’t got one for “vibrant multiculturalism” (or shooting little girls, as it is otherwise known).
I don’t mind interns from Sheffield, if they don’t earn they can’t afford a holiday can they!
definitely
we can’t have all these poor people going on cheap holidays all the time
they should go on expensive ones instead – oh, wait a minute ….
Never mind the heady world of the political Interns that are unpaid, at least they probably see it as an opportunity to get on the inside which often means lucrative jobs in the future and some very useful contacts, the biggest scandal which has been going on for years are what are called job placements introduced by the last Government, under this scheme unemployed people are used as a pool of free labour with virtually no chance of employment at the end of it and has the added advantage for them that this iniquitous system conveniently removes tens of thousands of people from the registry of those not in ‘work’ or training every year.
Fiddling statistics is now an art form.
“… Fiddling statistics is now an art form…”
Huzzah!
If it’s an art form, then I can claim shedloads of dosh from Dame Lezzie Foghorne (and thanks to Dame Suzy Quattro at the Chariddy Commissioners I can trouser the lot, tax free).
I do hope they haven’t abolished the Mrs Miggins Pie Shoppe Allowance in the new Finance Bill…
And another way of fiddling the unemployment figures is to raise the school leaving age to 18. Even then many of the school leavers are still illiterate and innumerate, and still unemployable. Next trick : raise it to 22 – compulsory university education for all. Announced by the Westminster shits as a great achievement and the UK leading the way.
What expenses and is the appropriate level of tax being paid on them? Expenses are only non-taxable if they are incurred wholly, exclusively and necessarily in respect of the office of employment. This is a stricter test than for self-employed people; the hard bit is necessarily. For instance, travel expenses from the home to work should not be non-taxable. Someone phone the HMRC. And whilst we are at it get someone to check compliance with the Working Time Directive.
If they’re not earning anything, it’s possible that they’re not paying tax. Provided the total of expenses is less than the annual tax-free allowance, surely no tax would be payable?
How much are the expenses; the assumption is that they are minimal. Expenses could be a way of paying them and avoiding NI and having to put them through the PAYE system.
A former Lib Dem intern just been on Sky; the expenses related to travel in and out of London and food. These are taxable emoluments not expenses – HMRC enquiry anyone?
To be fair to Clegg he hasn’t called for an end to all internships, just those with one of papa’s friends. Therefore this post is bollocks.
So wasting TFl time with your petty b/day complaints.
“Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
Don’t forget to mention you’re an M.P.
Typical London-centric bollocks. Fifty million Britons don’t live in the filthy stinking sinkhole that is London.
I live 2.5 miles from where I work. If it’s sunny I cycle. If it’s raining or I need shopping I use the car. If there’s too much snow on the ground I walk.
Go thou and do likewise.
(And a large number of my colleagues work from home. Modern communications mean you don’t actually need to be in the workplace, unless you’re a navvy.)
Sharp elbowed middle classes?
The internship malarkey is a scandal. Leaving aside the question of whom you know, the fact that they work for free is a scandal. Live and work in London and only the well healed can afford to do it.
This is a vast problem throughout Uk Commerce,Industry and Political parties. and other organisations..there are literally 1000′s of graduates that are doing unpaid work either has interns or volunteers to get experience on their CVs …this is one of the great scandals.. they are cynically being exploited .the fact is that no government be it Labour or Conservative/Lib-Dem can sort out the huge problem of graduate employment …there are literally thousands of graduates that have graduated since 2008 that are simply not in paid work(graduate level or otherwise) and the system is churning out thousands more whose fate will be to swell the jobless totals even more….and I’ve not even taken into account the thosands of 16-24 year olds who haven’t a degree and who are jobless and what’s the government’s splendid wheeze ? IDS says keep working until you’re 70 thereby blocking any movement at the bottom of the jobs ladder
Supply and Demand ….. Supply and Demand.
It wouldn’t happen much in times of near-full employment. Employers would have to offer bribery packages to attract the best of a limited supply of good candidates.
Just a sign of the times, that’s all. In a few years, when the economy is a bit more balanced, the practice will die out. (Actually, better make that a decade or so….)
Not quite. its odd.
Its as if a certain job will be so lucrative/special/important in the future, that it makes up for being paid nothing right now.
Is it the case that people looking for more normal jobs would prefer to work for a) fantasy job paid £0. b) half arsed tea-boy job paid £something.
I saw a report the other day of someone doing an unpaid internship for a crap tele-sales job. But that was in a seriously defective economy elsewhere.
Seriously defective economy? Middlesbrough.
You can tell their students as they are not very bright.
Female Graduates: Spread your legs and start breeding. Two kids will be enough for a three bed house and substantial living costs. Don’t live with your partner (officially) as you will miss out on your single parent allowance.
Male Graduates – Officially live with a friend who will rent you a room in his house (split the cash).
Whilst the state is paying for your journey through life start looking at other ways you can maximise your profit from the idiots who run the ‘system’, self-employment is a no brainer as you will get working tax credits aswell.
Hope this helps our younger generation get through the rest of their lives.
Working for a living and paying off student debt will leave you in a bedsit unable to afford kids!
Job done.
Enough is enough!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1373497/House-European-History-cost-Britons-19m-building-expenses-double.html
Thank you Guido
The day of Ed Miliband’s wedding is a public holiday with millions of workers enjoying a day off.
Right wing political blogger,Guido Fawkes announced the bank holiday for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, while the Scottish cabinet also agreed to a public holiday north of the border
I thought it was Edward now , Out the loop Martin?
What the fuck is John Howard doing on Daily Politics? Is he there to discuss Kylie and Neighbours?
Has he come to apologise for Germaine Greer?
I do hope we dont have to pay 19million extra for a Europeon history building for Brussels.
I’m not going. I’m here to represent my constituents and to plop in my bunkbed. Miss Macauley’s in Kent.
Trouble coming for former Labour minster Lord Triesman me thinks.
Socialism is the answer!
Well OK then. but what is the fucking question?
What is the best system of goverment to Fuck a country in the quickest time?
‘that something to do with the ICC standard?
This is the main reason why we have these young inexperienced pillocks of all parties ruining this country! No one should be allowed to stand for parliament unless they have spent at least 10 years WORKING in the real world. I would list all the Tory, Lib & Labour:-about turns, lies, cockups, Balls ups, sell outs, etc. etc. etc., but there will insufficient space on your blog, just to prove my point!!
P.S My understanding is that the trick about no RAF aircraft with insufficient pilots that can’t be deployed of our non-existent carriers in a time of crises was stolen from a ‘Yes Priminister Script’?
It’s quite damning really.
Only a bunch of devoted, brain dead, stasi-oriented, pedantic, nanny statists would work as interns, as they can afford to and clearly want to get onto the greasy ladder so they can start bossing the voters around and learn how to lie, cheat, defraud and generally act like a bunch of fascistic storm troopers whilst ordering us around.
If they can intern for nothing, then why is it when they become professional sleazy, scum bagging politicoes that they want big salaries and even bigger expense claims?
Surely they’ve learnt to subsist on the Bank of Wealthy Parents, and to control outgoings…………
So if the former they are not in touch with working/ordinary people and if the latter, have no need for loads of money having learnt to cope with very little money.
The Fib-Dems, lying and cheating and just as venal and corrupt as the rest.
CNUTS.
how and why PC Simon Harwood is not being charged with the murder of Ian Tomlinson in London I do not know
see the liveblog at the guardian
Well it was an accident guv! ‘e just slipped when I tried to support him! Well something like that!
guardian ???? !! YEEEUUUUKKK !!!
Nick Clegg’s personal record on unpaid internships:
http://www.w4mp.org/html/personnel/jobs/disp_job_text.asp?ref=20558
http://www.w4mp.org/html/personnel/jobs/disp_job.asp?ref=26027
http://www.w4mp.org/html/personnel/jobs/disp_job.asp?ref=21719
We believe passionately that nepotism, patronage and the ‘Old Boy’ network have ruined the Country and the Liebour party has never indulged in these practices.