As a recipient of £53.95 a week under the Jobseekers Allowance scheme I find myself noticing extreme wastes of money more frequently.

I continue to question the justifications behind the firefighters request for a 40% pay rise. I am not convinced that their job warrants such an increase and their union leader Andy Gilchrist is doing very little to convince. Although I’m sure my opinion could be swayed over an £800 curry at the Cinnamon Club. In fact, he could probably stretch to feeding me, my fellow job seekers and JobCentre’Plus’ staff.

Andy’s spending would seem sensible, if not appropriate, in light of the fact that Carey Young is shortlisted to win a £20,000 prize from Becks Futures for producing a piece of art whose very ‘essence’ is that no one will ever see it! There is apparently something artistic, although I can only see farcical, about the display of a non-disclosure agreement detailing the unseen artwork. It smacks of being paid to not turn up at work on your first day.

But the last straw comes from Jack Straw with his war chest of £1.75bn. I’m sure there are plenty of people would could find a better use for it.


posted by Martin Wright at 10:36 am | Link