Social life for the modern unemployed person is worse than under Thatcher

I was unemployed during the 1980s, at the height of Thatcherism. I was in my early twenties. It was the height of the miners strike and other industrial disputes, and also the height of left-wing militant activity against the government.

I was on what was then called Unemployment Benefit. I was getting around £56 a fortnight and lived in a council flat. £56 then would be around £225 now. That is more than what people on JSA get now.

As those of you old enough to remember will recall, the unemployed in those days got discounts for ticket prices to theatres, cinemas and art galley exhibitions that had a charge. There were also discounts for rail fare prices and and National Express coach fares. I have no idea if discounts for such things are available these days, and if they are, whether they are automatically available for all the unemployed.

There were also a lot of free further education and adult education courses for the unemployed. I was on a few of them during that period. Now, all further education courses have a large fee attached for everyone without exception. I think a few adult education courses still have discounts for the unemployed, but the choice of subject on these courses are not as varied as they were when I was unemployed.

Being on such courses enabled the unemployed to make friends and have a social life. This and the discounts for cinemas etc made life for the unemployed far better than it is today.

Back then, you only signed on once a fortnight, and that took 5 seconds - you were in and out, with no questions asked. And you never got pestered to find a job. Every year or so, you would be asked if you would like to join what was called a Job Club, where you would go in every day for two weeks, and apply for jobs while there, with the use of free stamps and envelopes etc. But this was totally voluntary, and you were never pressured to go on it. If you refused, it would not be held against you in any way. And if you went on it and left after a few days you were not punished.

These days none of that exists for the unemployed, as you all well know. It is hard to imagine that this was all under Thatcher. Maybe back then, even Thatcher understood the need for the unemployed to have some space to find a job without being threatened to do so.

After reading this post, I wondered if you haven't got some Rose tinted glasses on #Archangel? That said I agree with you on the surface it seems to be a Golden Age of being on the Dole.
Not that I speak from experience, just relates that have sailed on the Dole.

I remember the Coal not Dole strike, and the revamped Jarrow March. And I thought that Coal mining industry was a dirty physically demanding occupation. When compared to being on the Dole. I can't deny I have wished for a cave-in  and the JCP building to calapse around me.

Next while the regime wasn't as regimented. There was the yearly Review, over an hr intergation meeting of how your joob seeking was going. Also in the 1960's , there was daily reporting to the Labour Exchange. Sounds like the intensive period on the UC.

And yet as I understand the figures . There was a better Flow/Turnover rate of Claimant's, getting off the books ( into work). In the 1980's, than present day, with all the micro management .

To your point about Adult Education classes, they seem to have been turned into sat on the mat' courses . So all of these Teacher's are now teaching soft-skills, instead of real skills. And last but not least, ET ( employment training/ extra tenner) .A year long , full time training. To address the skills shortages in the workplace. With actual training in some occupations. You never heard in the media of a skills shortage, as they retrained people. Now there's an idea .

If you want a snapshot of 1980's Britain on the Dole, watch the tv show Shelly.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelley_(TV_series)

Also maybe they should bring back the 'discounts'. And get people Economically Active, again ...

I was also out of work during that time period and I was also in my 20s. There was a scheme where you got guaranteed work for a year. I got a job working for the school library service, going around repairing all the books in local schools. I got a proper wage and I got travel expenses. I was given free education (I learned to type) during the year's work and at the end of it I had no problem getting another job. My not having a problem getting work continued right up end of 2007. Then the psychopaths tanked the banking system and the entire country has turned to shit since then.

I forgot the name of the site, but I remember a .gov website that the joke shop insisted you logged your job search activities. I think it was called Universal Jobsearch and it was introduced just before the government's website, Find a job. I still have my spreadsheet that I would copy and paste my daily activities from.

It's all about control. As one Restart advisor said to me, as far as we're concerned if you're not in work, then we're putting you on every course we've got available for you to keep you in here until you decide to get a job.

#Absolut:
"There was a scheme where you got guaranteed work for a year. I got a job working for the school library service, going around repairing all the books in local schools. I got a proper wage and I got travel expenses. "

Those were the days Absolut, guaranteed work for a year. Today it would be on a ZHC/Gig economy, and wonder why no one is tempted by the offer ...
It must take years of experience, to reverse engineer a scheme that works... De-construct all the elements that are beneficial to the participant. The last similar situation/scheme I was offered. Was 30hrs a week, and got a bus ticket for the week. That was it, and expected to do all Job seeking activities as well in that week... Surprisingly, I turned down the offer....

That also reminded me of 2x tv shows. Never would be made today, as portraying UE personages as people..

Bread

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=464mTZFTWNk&pp=ygUZdHYgc2hvdyBicmVhZCB0aGVtZSB0dW5lIA%3D%3D

🥨 Boys from the Black stuff

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HIXF-mdnDd0&pp=ygUYYm95cyBmcm9tIHRoZSBibGFja3N0dWZm

Someone told me this morning, they heard a total MORON saying 'people can still easily get on the housing ladder and save for a house, just like they use to.'  I had to ask were they a Tory ?

Dont know about anyone else on this forum but i personally find all that total bullshit, and must have been sitting in a darkened room somewhere these past 14 years.

Still makes me laugh but want to cry when they all feel we're still only paying 4% more for goods in the shops. I wonder if they still dont know what the price of a pint of milk is ?

Pintel wrote:
Next while the regime wasn't as regimented. There was the yearly Review, over an hr intergation meeting of how your joob seeking was going.

I don't recall the yearly Review. I was on the dole back then from 1983 to 1989, and only ever had a two-year or so Restart interview for 20 minutes, and that was only a formality. You were told you had to go to the interview, but when you did, the interviewer never forced you to go on any schemes etc.

Pintel wrote:If you want a snapshot of 1980's Britain on the Dole, watch the tv show Shelly.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelley_(TV_series)

Also maybe they should bring back the 'discounts'. And get people Economically Active, again ...

Yes, I remember Shelley. It was broadcast between 1979 and 1984. I first went on the dole in 1983 and its portrayal the jobcentre was accurate, as far as not being punished if you refused work or any work scheme.

Absolut wrote:I was also out of work during that time period and I was also in my 20s. There was a scheme where you got guaranteed work for a year. I got a job working for the school library service, going around repairing all the books in local schools. I got a proper wage and I got travel expenses. I was given free education (I learned to type) during the year's work and at the end of it I had no problem getting another job. My not having a problem getting work continued right up end of 2007. Then the psychopaths tanked the banking system and the entire country has turned to shit since then.

I remember that. I was offered it but refused for some reason, and was not punished. I don't know why I refused. Looking back I think it was a great idea. Not like the crap phony schemes they force you to go on these days.

Intincroi wrote:I forgot the name of the site, but I remember a .gov website that the joke shop insisted you logged your job search activities.  I think it was called Universal Jobsearch and it was introduced just before the government's website, Find a job.  I still have my spreadsheet that I would copy and paste my daily activities from.

It's all about control.  As one Restart advisor said to me, as far as we're concerned if you're not in work, then we're putting you on every course we've got available for you to keep you in here until you decide to get a job.

Is that the one were all your job applications were time logged down to the seconds, including the amount of time it took you to complete an application process? It was a form of digital slavery. You had to be at your PC for most of the day to prove you were actively seeking work.

Pintel wrote:That also reminded me of 2x tv shows. Never would be made today, as portraying UE personages as people..

Bread

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=464mTZFTWNk&pp=ygUZdHYgc2hvdyBicmVhZCB0aGVtZSB0dW5lIA%3D%3D

🥨 Boys from the Black stuff

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HIXF-mdnDd0&pp=ygUYYm95cyBmcm9tIHRoZSBibGFja3N0dWZm

Yes, Bread showed how little the jobcentre cared if you were looking for work or not. This is why the Daily Mail always slammed the show.

The Boys From the Blackstuff also showed the jobscentre as being indifferent to your work seeking status. The only episode I saw that put the jobcentre in a negative light was the one were one character was hounded by the benefits fraud squad due to his taking a cash-in-hand job on a building site while still claiming benefit. But otherwise it never focused on the jobcentre, or "dole office" as it was known as back then.

jobberpw wrote:Someone told me this morning, they heard a total MORON saying 'people can still easily get on the housing ladder and save for a house, just like they use to.'  I had to ask were thet a Tory ?

Dont know about anyone else on this forum but i personally find all that total bullshit, and must have been sitting in a darkened room somewhere these past 14 years.

Still makes me laugh but want to cry when they all feel we're still only paying 4% more for goods in the shops. I wonder if they still dont know what the price of a pint of milk is ?

There are lots of people like that around. They still think it is 1978 or something. They are either pensioners on a private pension after having had a good job, people who work for right wing media outlets, or just, as you say, morons.

I had a similar conversation with some fella. He said "There's plenty of jobs out there..." I asked him, where he based his assessment of the employment situation on. As he was retired ( in his 70's)...🤨. Gave some 'word salad' generic reply (a sheeple?).

To #Jobber's comment, I personally have never been able to get on the 'housing ladder', when I was working. Due to low paid employment vs the housing market bubble . So priced out before I started

"..modern unemployed person is worse than under Thatcher"...

Years ago I would of said look at the Statistics . However, the way the DWP massage the figures. You'd never get a accurate figure...

So how to measure this

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/jan/05/not-that-difficult-buy-home-uk-natwest-chair-howard-davies

Unless you are the ️ of a large banking group . W

"The chair of NatWest has claimed it is not “that difficult” to get on the property ladder, despite the number of first-time buyers with a mortgage falling to the lowest level in a decade."

Why am I getting a 'Flash-back to 2008" , banking crisis

Pintel wrote:"..modern unemployed person is worse than under Thatcher"...

Years ago I would of said look at the Statistics . However, the way the DWP massage the figures. You'd never get a accurate figure...

So how to measure this

My guess it that unemployment is over 3 million, if the working poor on working tax credit is taken into account and all the people on the Restart Scheme are also included. There will also be other ways the DWP can massage the real figures.

Pintel wrote:https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/jan/05/not-that-difficult-buy-home-uk-natwest-chair-howard-davies

Unless you are the ️ of a large banking group . W

"The chair of NatWest has claimed it is not “that difficult” to get on the property ladder, despite the number of first-time buyers with a mortgage falling to the lowest level in a decade."

Why am I getting a 'Flash-back to 2008" , banking crisis

I'm amazed that all these banking billionaires look like losers. How did they ever become so rich? Mind you, most of them are just lucky jobsworths who were in the right place at the right time.

#Archangel:
"My guess it that unemployment is over 3 million, if the working poor on working tax credit is taken into account and all the people on the Restart Scheme are also included. There will also be other ways the DWP can massage the real figures."

I would add to this the way the 'Tax credits' have been merged with the UC. To further blur the lines, of persons employed or not?

#Archangel
"I'm amazed that all these banking billionaires look like losers. How did they ever become so rich? Mind you, most of them are just lucky jobsworths who were in the right place at the right time."

You have to wonder where they spend their money on? Doesn't seem to be on designer suits

The sinister jobs site referred to upthread was the infamous Universal Jobmatch. Naturally, I refused to give the jobcentre permission to access my account so it's creepy surveillance features were rendered futile. That used to wind WCs up no end!

Universal jobs match.. WC would always say, if you have nothing to hide, you'd let me see it.

The Catwoman wrote:Universal jobs match.. WC would always say, if you have nothing to hide, you'd let me see it.

That's what I used to say about my sour-titted Work roach!

I remember all the talk of the UK becoming a Police-state in the 1980's. Yet in the current age, I haven't heard many talk about the surveillance state?️