Quote Originally Posted by widow_twanky
I have always had a very strong alignment with the tories financial policies, the idea of a smaller cost effective state with low taxation has been very attractive to me. As time has gone by and with some life experience I found myself buying into labours social policies in a big way. The assistance given to families with disabilities, the sure start programmes for underpriveliged children, the widespread upgrading and rebuilding of our schools and the increased provisions for children with special educational needs are all issues which I can say Labour have done well with and i would happily pay more tax to keep going. The problem was always they spent too much money doing it with way too much beurocracy.
I think the whole EMA issue highlights exactly what I was saying in this. The idea that children from underprivilged families should be provided with adequate funding to go into higher education is IMO a sound one. There are a lot of kids that really do benefit from this who would otherwise not have the opportunity to go on to secondary education. It is cheaper or at least the same cost as going on the dole. The problem is simply that people who are not seriously studying can either sit at home getting nothing or go to college. Making someone turn up to college does not make them a student. Essentially what started as a good well intentioned idea ended up being a trap for young people who had nothing else and no ambition to get off their backsides to look for anything else. EMA for serious courses for serious people in need of assistance I would be supportive of but not the current system. (problem with that statement is I don't really see much value in arts courses so where do you draw the line?)

As far as adult education and student fees etc I personally believe it should be free (within limits....say first degree etc) and paid for through general taxation. The idea of a graduate tax, fees etc works on the basis that you pay for it yourself. So add a penny on income tax (see lib dems previous manifestos ) and make it free. The point being is that if it really is true that a degree will give you a higher income then you will automatically pay more tax. No brainer in my opinion except that those who had a grant, free fees etc etc would then have to pay more tax so there would be serious objection from those more likely to vote.

A very valid point is that training for out, then went to do work study (yep the one you see in carry on films with the stop watches)adults to change careers, gain qualifications should be given a higher priority. Between 1970 and now I know of people who have had numerous different careers. One guy started as a tool and cutter grinder which died out, then did work study which died out, then did summat else i can't remember and then ended up in IT. The world changes and the idea of a job for life has gone. Industries die out and people need to retrain. The training courses which are on offer for the unemployed are simply pathetic. I can think of nothing worse than being unemployed for six months and then being told to go on an IT skills training course (which has happened to a chartered engineer i know). It works on the basis that people are unemployed because they are both uneducated and uneducatable (me thinks i'll stop now because I've started making up words )