This probably won’t be a very popular thing to say, but I think that the idea of removing the compulsary retirement age (the age at which an employer can make an employee resign) is wrong. At least, it’s wrong right now.
At a time when there are nearly a million under-24s out of work – a fifth of them – we should be encouraging and enabling them to get jobs. Otherwise we’re going to end up with a massive part of a generation with no experience of work, no skills, and …

Liberal Democrats might seem all nice and cuddly. But it seems like the sandal-wearers aren’t quite as tolerant as they would like us to think, as revealed by Tory Bear:

“I’m perfectly liberal, I just think gays should be shot before they spread the disease to us straights.”
Luke Richards
President, Warwick University Liberal Democrats

TB has also found some pictures of this homophobe with his party leader:

However much this might have been a “joke” (as one can hope it was), had this been a member of CF, the story would have been picked …

The UK Youth Parliament is set to use the House of Commons Chamber over the summer recess, despite opposition from some MPs. Quite how they can object to it, I don’t know.
The Commons Chamber sits unused for so much of the time – whenever MPs are on any of their extremely long holidays – and is the most underused room in the country. So why shouldn’t it be put to use when it can be, and there is a damn good reason for it?
The Chamber shouldn’t be used for party …

The Tories have announced a new policy on law and order – grounding young offenders. The plan is to allow the police to apply for court orders to confine youths to their homes for up to a month, except for school.
However, I see problems with this. No mention has been made of organised extra-curricular activites that these youths may attend. For example, the youth organisation with which I am involved – Scouting. That is beneficial for all young people that attend it, even those who may be behaving anti-socially or …

Now colour me surprised, as researchers have found out in a study that “health campaigns warning of the dangers of alcohol are being ignored by many young people”. Fuck me, they paid people to repeat the blindingly obvious – that could have been got for free right here on this blog?
The so-called ‘educational’ adverts on alcohol that tell people not to exceed “safe levels” of alcohol consumption are deemed as “laughably unrealistic” by people for one very good reason: because they’re all made up.
People know how much alcohol it is …

One of my interests (and aims of the blog) is to encourage participation in politics as widely as possible. At least two of the three main parties have been talking about training, including media training, for younger members. The Liberal Democrats are talking about why their Leadership Academy should train everyone as they are all potential leaders.

Meanwhile, the Young Britons’ Foundation ran a training day at the Conservative Party Conference for young activists. Mike Rouse has kindly written an account for the Wardman Wire.

Liam Donaldson, chief medical officer, is proposing a new authoritarian policy – cutting the legal blood alcohol limit for drivers aged 17-20 to zero.
That is a stupid idea for various reasons:

Young/new drivers are rarely the ones who drink and drive. They tend to have far more respect for the road and other drivers than older people who are arrogantly confident in their own driving abilities and their ability to consume alcohol.

It wouldn’t reduce the number of accidents due to drink-driving unless a far greater amount of policing was put into …

Only one political party could consider 59 to be a good age for a ‘yoof advisor‘. I mean, for crying out loud, at 59 ex-rocker Brian Eno is older than my parents!
He is even nineteen years older than the man who has appointed him!
Clegg has made a big mistake with this appointment. Appointing an old man to advise them on youth issues just makes them look ridiculous, especially to the very youths they are trying to attract.

The SNP conference has voted to support lowering the voting age to 16. I don’t think that this is a good idea at all. Eighteen is the right age for the franchise to be bestowed. Sixteen is simply too young. At sixteen you are usually still in compulsory schooling, so you certainly can’t be claimed to have reached maturity or adulthood.
As Andrew Allison points out, the law is confused. The legal age at which you can buy cigarettes was recently raised to 18, for one thing. You have to be …

Ban young offenders from having a driving licence?
David Cameron has called for young offenders to be barred from driving as part of a programme to tackle crime“Common sense suggests that with young people you need to hit them where it hurts: in their lifestyle and their aspirations,” said the Tory leader.He urged the wider use of powers enabling judges to disqualify offenders from holding or obtaining a licence.He said he wanted a “three-dimensional” approach to youth crime, focusing on families, policing and the courts. (BBC)
That may work in a superficial …