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	<title>Comments on: Citizen MPs, ‘Youthstart’ centres, Volunteering, A Royal Commission on Housing and the Social Mobility revolution</title>
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	<description>Left Foot Forward is a political blog for progressives. We provide evidence-based analysis on British politics, news and policy developments.</description>
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		<title>By: Tim Worstall</title>
		<link>http://www.leftfootforward.org/2009/10/citizen-mps/comment-page-1/#comment-5458</link>
		<dc:creator>Tim Worstall</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:54:45 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description>&quot;A national network of staffed centres for young people of secondary school age.&quot;

We have this already. They&#039;re called &quot;schools&quot;.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>&#8220;A national network of staffed centres for young people of secondary school age.&#8221;</p>
<p>We have this already. They&#8217;re called &#8220;schools&#8221;.</p>
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		<title>By: Chris</title>
		<link>http://www.leftfootforward.org/2009/10/citizen-mps/comment-page-1/#comment-2322</link>
		<dc:creator>Chris</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:35:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.leftfootforward.org/?p=2382#comment-2322</guid>
		<description>Volunteering - dont get me wrong - this is an OK idea - but would Labour allow rich kids to max out student loans to get 25% discount after 2 years of mentoring - what would it involve?  email / meetings.  What if the mentoree decides they cant be bothered despite excellent support from mentor?  Hard to work in practice.

Housing - how would you prevent home ownership?  Make people forfeit their properties.  Sounds a bit like communism to me.

Social Mobility Revolution - Grammar schools provided social mobility - admittedly some people were pigeonholed to other technical schols, but the gifted poor were educated in excellent schools which could nurture academic ability allowing entrance to university (funded through grants system).  Labour is fundamentally against social mobility because if someone moves up then someone else is moving down, and that is terrible unless they are a baby eating tory.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Volunteering &#8211; dont get me wrong &#8211; this is an OK idea &#8211; but would Labour allow rich kids to max out student loans to get 25% discount after 2 years of mentoring &#8211; what would it involve?  email / meetings.  What if the mentoree decides they cant be bothered despite excellent support from mentor?  Hard to work in practice.</p>
<p>Housing &#8211; how would you prevent home ownership?  Make people forfeit their properties.  Sounds a bit like communism to me.</p>
<p>Social Mobility Revolution &#8211; Grammar schools provided social mobility &#8211; admittedly some people were pigeonholed to other technical schols, but the gifted poor were educated in excellent schools which could nurture academic ability allowing entrance to university (funded through grants system).  Labour is fundamentally against social mobility because if someone moves up then someone else is moving down, and that is terrible unless they are a baby eating tory.</p>
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		<title>By: Chris</title>
		<link>http://www.leftfootforward.org/2009/10/citizen-mps/comment-page-1/#comment-2321</link>
		<dc:creator>Chris</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:28:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.leftfootforward.org/?p=2382#comment-2321</guid>
		<description>Citizen MPs - not a terrible idea - but it does downgrade the legislature.  Either MPs are worth all the money they are paid, or it could all be done by citizen MPs.  If someone as intelligent as Martin Bell struggled in 1997 as an independent, how difficult would it be for people who may have no formal education etc.

Youthstart - I have always believed that we should make more use of that assets we already have.  How many school buildings are sat empty at night and in holidays.  Why not use these?  From what I know of Kids having been involved in youth work, only a small minority of secondary age kids would voluntarily attend.  Most wouldnt be seen dead somewhere like you describe.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Citizen MPs &#8211; not a terrible idea &#8211; but it does downgrade the legislature.  Either MPs are worth all the money they are paid, or it could all be done by citizen MPs.  If someone as intelligent as Martin Bell struggled in 1997 as an independent, how difficult would it be for people who may have no formal education etc.</p>
<p>Youthstart &#8211; I have always believed that we should make more use of that assets we already have.  How many school buildings are sat empty at night and in holidays.  Why not use these?  From what I know of Kids having been involved in youth work, only a small minority of secondary age kids would voluntarily attend.  Most wouldnt be seen dead somewhere like you describe.</p>
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		<title>By: Tom Tabori</title>
		<link>http://www.leftfootforward.org/2009/10/citizen-mps/comment-page-1/#comment-1242</link>
		<dc:creator>Tom Tabori</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:12:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.leftfootforward.org/?p=2382#comment-1242</guid>
		<description>5 surefire hits, John. 

I particularly like the detail of using explicit reallocation of funding from other areas. This would make explicit that no new taxes were in the offing (important in this election where cuts are the master narrative), but most importantly the explicit reference to a past policy shows the workings, as it were, giving the policy both motive and direction. This would be a powerful election time statement when for so long the appearance has been of an intellectual vacuum from which policy appears like a rabbit out of a hat. 

There is one policy I would add to these! I will post it soon.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>5 surefire hits, John. </p>
<p>I particularly like the detail of using explicit reallocation of funding from other areas. This would make explicit that no new taxes were in the offing (important in this election where cuts are the master narrative), but most importantly the explicit reference to a past policy shows the workings, as it were, giving the policy both motive and direction. This would be a powerful election time statement when for so long the appearance has been of an intellectual vacuum from which policy appears like a rabbit out of a hat. </p>
<p>There is one policy I would add to these! I will post it soon.</p>
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		<title>By: Arthur</title>
		<link>http://www.leftfootforward.org/2009/10/citizen-mps/comment-page-1/#comment-931</link>
		<dc:creator>Arthur</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:34:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.leftfootforward.org/?p=2382#comment-931</guid>
		<description>Sounds like a charter of oppression to me.  State getting their hands on children after school as well as during school?  Denying parents the freedom to educate their children how they see fit?  Manipulating the make-up of all institutions and organisations irrespective of ability or education?</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Sounds like a charter of oppression to me.  State getting their hands on children after school as well as during school?  Denying parents the freedom to educate their children how they see fit?  Manipulating the make-up of all institutions and organisations irrespective of ability or education?</p>
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