CORRESPONDENCE WITH CHRIS GRAYLING MP

With apologies to any readers overseas, for whom this post must seem somewhat arcane I post the full correspondence, to date with Chris Grayling minister at The Department of Work and Pensions, (DWP).
I promised Mr Grayling right of reply and hereby produce his response to my open letter and my response to his response.

From: Alex Talbot [mailto:alextalbot116@gmail.com]

Sent: 21 February 2012 04:24

To: GRAYLING, Chris

Subject: WORKFARE


Dear Chris Grayling,

 It used to be the greatest of all slurs to accuse a ‘gentleman’ of lying; indeed there was a time when men fought duels protesting the accusation, some dying in the process. Those times have gone, now recourse is more readily made to the courts in the form of libel actions, to be accused of lying in public still therefore carries some ignominy. So with this in mind I accuse of you of being a liar. I quote you in full:-

 “We won’t and don’t force anyone to take a work experience placement. Where we use mandation in our welfare policies, it will be to do useful work on community projects. We will never mandate anyone to work for a big company. They wouldn’t take them if we did."

 This cannot be dressed up as being ‘economical with the truth,’ as being disingenuous or telling half truths, it is a bare faced lie. Unemployed persons as I write are being used as unpaid labour under compulsion, i.e. the threat of loosing their benefits, in the following ‘big’ companies Poundland, Tesco, Argos. Cait Reilly is taking the government to court precisely over having faced this kind of compulsion. Just one of several new workfare schemes is called the ‘Mandatory Work Programme,’ (the clue Mr Grayling is in the name).

So just in case any ambiguity can be detected in my remarks thus far I repeat, Mr Grayling you are a liar.

 The above is posted on my bloghttp://alextalbot.blogspot.com/ as an open letter and I hereby offer you the right of reply.

 Alex Talbot


GRAYLING, Chris chris.grayling.mp@parliament.uk

 21 Feb


I’m afraid you are just plain wrong. Our work experience scheme is voluntary, and it is oversubscribed. Large numbers of unemployed young people are finding work as a result.

Our mandatory work activity programme is completely different, and only involves projects with a public and community good.

You can accuse me of whatever you like, but the fact is that you are wrong.


chris.grayling.mp

chris.grayling.mp@parliament.uk




TO Chris chris.grayling.mp@parliament.uk

27 Feb

Well since you dispensed with the courtesies so will I.

First I think it as well to get rid of a slur; I am not a member of the Socialist Workers Party,* never have been and never would. I do not need a front organisation to express my views I am more than capable of looking after my self.
So let me get quickly to the nub of the matter, this is my statement that you lied when you stated “We will never mandate anyone to work for a big company. They wouldn’t take them if we did."

You say that the scheme is voluntary and indeed I concede that the gateway to ‘the work experience,’ component is voluntary, I’ll leave aside here arguments about the sort of pressure that has been brought to bare in some cases, since I like my arguments to be clear and unclouded, I therefore accept that entry onto the scheme is voluntary and that there is even a one week grace period, after this however the scheme becomes in that hideous Orwellian phrase ‘mandated’, that is failure to complete the placement could lead to loss of benefits. This sounds like coercion, looks like coercion, smells uncannily like coercion; I think we are looking at coercion here. But hey don’t just take my word for it listen to the voices of Sainsbury’s, Poundland, Waterstones, even Tesco are calling a spade a spade, why is it so difficult for you?
So, rather wearily I repeat my charge, you are telling lies Mr Grayling.

Alex Talbot

 *NB Mr Grayling had suggested on television that all opponents of The Work Programme were far left members of the SWP. Is Poundland also not a big company?


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