³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

Commentators discuss Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg's document .

that ambitious working class kids will be the biggest losers in Mr Clegg's "patronising war on unpaid internships":

"As someone who attended a comp, grew up in a terraced house with seven other people and had never heard of The Archers until the age of 19 (when some girl in a pub started banging on about it), you might think I would welcome Nick Clegg's social mobility strategy and his attack on unpaid internships. Not a bit of it.
Ìý
"Under the guise of launching a class war against tennis club poshos and their allegedly ruthless sons and daughters, Clegg - who himself is hardly Albert Steptoe - is trampling all over the art of hustling. He threatens to replace the spark and spirit that drive some young people to force their foot through the door of their desired profession with a jumped-up job-creation scheme, where the state will take responsibility for ensuring that all youth, regardless of verve, are placed in semi-paid tea-making positions. This will be bad for young people, and bad for the companies they end up kind-of working for."

that if there is no industry and no jobs, there is no incentive to push oneself up the class system:

"Class is nowadays basically a function of income. It can't respond to some quick-fix Cameron initiative or Clegg internship. Divisiveness will get worse because the political economy of Britain is structurally inept at generating and redistributing wealth across the human landscape. The only real aid to upward mobility is income and growth. That is why the last thing Cameron should have done was put up VAT."

Ìý

Conservative MP that, if the government is to achieve social mobility, there is a more pressing need than internships:

"There are many ways for young people to aspire to much higher incomes than their parents. They all entail lots of hard work. Being a star foiotballer [sic], a leading singer, a great dancer or a well known actor all require plenty of discipline and training. The social reformers have in mind more people from the inner cities becoming High Court judges, leading barristers, senior medical consultants, leading accountants and writers. These professions can offer attractive levels of financial reward, but all require substantial academic achievement on the part of their recruits.
Ìý
"The single most important thing the government can do to bring this about is to reform the state schools so that more of them enthuse, encourage and promote academic excellence."

what the document means for the Liberal Democrats:

"The important thing is that Clegg has now grasped this nettle firmly, and will be introducing reforms which ensure that unpaid interning comes to an end, so that all the future Nick Cleggs of this world can be paid for their efforts.
Ìý
"The bankers and politicians who were recruited under the old who-your-father-knew/unpaid internship system have now clambered to the top of the greasy poles of high finance and political office. Fortunately, they are all absolutely brilliant chaps, and evidently the best people for their jobs.
Ìý
"The country is safe in their hands."

that the government's report on social mobility is too long and not original:

"The government's new report into social mobility is, it tells us, all about 'opening doors' and 'breaking barriers' - but it's probably taxing attention spans too. 89 pages of text and graphs, offset by the same pea soup shade of green that's used for all these coalition documents. To save you from wading through it all, here's our quick... summary:
Ìý
"1) The same story... Much of the report, as James suggested earlier, is familiar territory. After all, the coalition's two most developed policy areas - welfare and education - are precisely designed to improve opportunities for the least well-off; so here they are again, restated and slightly reframed."