Labour to 'guarantee jobs for all of Britain's 2.5million unemployed' in bid to reduce Tory poll lead

Published 15th Jan 2010

Labour is planning to guarantee jobs for all of Britain's 2.5 million unemployed in its election manifesto.

The proposal is aimed to reduce the Tory's double-digit poll lead on Labour.

Under the new measure, anyone claiming jobseeker’s allowance for more than two years would be guaranteed government-funded work or training.

Benefits would be withdrawn from those who failed to take up the offer.

The plan was thrashed out during a three-hour cabinet meeting on Tuesday after Gordon Brown urged ministers to come up with their most radical manifesto in a generation, according to The Times.

Senior Whitehall sources say that the promise is likely to be among five or six key pledges that Labour believes can help to erode the Tory's lead.

The intention is to extend the £1.5 billion youth jobs guarantee, which will be rolled out across the country in the coming weeks.

People aged 18 to 24 who claim jobseeker’s allowance for more than six months will similarly be assured of work or training.

Funding could come from revenue generated by the one-off tax on bankers' bonuses, according to the newspaper.

Yvette Cooper, the Work and Pensions Secretary, has announced plans to offer 'tailored support' for unemployed people aged over 50.

She also announced that claimants who take jobs would receive £40 a week more than if they stayed on benefit.

Although ministers emphasised last night that the proposed jobs guarantee 'had not yet been signed off', it is being backed by Ed Miliband, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, who has been charged with drawing up the manifesto, David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, and Ms Cooper.

Ministers will emphasise that the measure would include new responsibilities, as well as rights, for those claimants who are seen as having become dependent on benefits.

David Cameron is planning big changes to the welfare system and has proposed scrapping the New Deal and other initiatives to create a new Work Programme for the jobless.

Source: ' Daily Mail '

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