Hard Work: Life in Low-pay Britain (Paperback)

Anthony Butcher · 25-07-2007, 10:25 AM

		*Hard Work: Life in Low-pay Britain* (Paperback)
by Polly Toynbee (Author)

'A passionately reasoned and compelling account of the avoidable cruelties still embedded in the underside of British life - by a writer who has literally worn the clothes, lived in the flats and done the jobs of the poor. Every member of the cabinet should be required to read it, apologise and then act' - Will Hutton. A frank and breathtaking book, this is journalist and broadcaster Polly Toynbee's account of her courageous intention to live and work on the minimum wage. The 'decent living' wage set by the Council of Europe is set at 7.39. The minimum wage in Britain is currently 4.10 per hour. And often, people are working for less, their voices unheard, their faces unnoticed. The low-paid are caught in an economic double bind that victimises them and shames the rest of us. Toynbee took whatever jobs she could find, often offered for less than the official minimum wage. Living on an estate in Clapham, she started from scratch and found that if she were truly unemployed, she would not even be able to afford a new job, and that faced with starvation, it's impossible not to sink into debt. In this powerful and compelling book, Polly Toynbee journeys to the inside of Britain today and uncovers that world which is invisible to most. This is a damning portrait of social justice in Britain.
	Check prices at: Blackwell's Search for second hand copies on: AbeBooks.co.uk

mkpdavies · 25-07-2007, 10:28 AM

I wouldn't give you the steam off my **** for anything this woman writes.

The poor will be kept poor as long as people expect useless government to provide all the solutions.

Westcountryman · 25-07-2007, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anthony Butcher

		*Hard Work: Life in Low-pay Britain* (Paperback)
by Polly Toynbee (Author)

'A passionately reasoned and compelling account of the avoidable cruelties still embedded in the underside of British life - by a writer who has literally worn the clothes, lived in the flats and done the jobs of the poor. Every member of the cabinet should be required to read it, apologise and then act' - Will Hutton. A frank and breathtaking book, this is journalist and broadcaster Polly Toynbee's account of her courageous intention to live and work on the minimum wage. The 'decent living' wage set by the Council of Europe is set at 7.39. The minimum wage in Britain is currently 4.10 per hour. And often, people are working for less, their voices unheard, their faces unnoticed. The low-paid are caught in an economic double bind that victimises them and shames the rest of us. Toynbee took whatever jobs she could find, often offered for less than the official minimum wage. Living on an estate in Clapham, she started from scratch and found that if she were truly unemployed, she would not even be able to afford a new job, and that faced with starvation, it's impossible not to sink into debt. In this powerful and compelling book, Polly Toynbee journeys to the inside of Britain today and uncovers that world which is invisible to most. This is a damning portrait of social justice in Britain.
	Check prices at: Blackwell's Search for second hand copies on: AbeBooks.co.uk

I wouldn't use the **** that woman writes as toilet paper.

Phil Sheldon · 25-07-2007, 10:41 PM

More complete and utter rubbish from this deluded woman.

The National Minimum Wage:

The minimum wage is a legal right which covers almost all workers above compulsory school leaving age. There are different minimum wage rates for different groups of workers as follows:

The main rate for workers aged 22 and over increased on 1 October 2006 to £5.35 an hour from £5.05 an hour.

The development rate for 18-21 year olds increased to £4.45 an hour from £4.25 an hour

The development rate for 16-17 year old increased to £3.30 an hour from £3.00 an hour

http://www.dti.gov.uk/employment/pay...age/index.html

Will Hutton also has a reputation as a self-serving Left Winger-That's why he is a favourite on BBC News programmes.

This book need to be recycled as quickly as possible for toilet paper.

pentameter · 26-07-2007, 12:07 AM

I'm not about to pay for a bleeding heart lecture from this very rich woman.

What next? Something by Moonbat or the dreadful John Pilger?

Anthony Butcher · 26-07-2007, 12:09 AM

Someone recommended it...so I added it to the list

g hall · 26-07-2007, 01:06 PM

Go to your library and sit down and read it - do not take it out as the silly cow makes money that way.

Knowing NuLab it'll be full of patronising tosh

David Agnew · 29-07-2007, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anthony Butcher

Someone recommended it...so I added it to the list

Yes, I did.

I am amused by the vitriolic response it has provoked.

I am not a fan of Polly Toynbee either, as she is a notorious cheerleader for New Labour (and Dave's latest heroine). I don't just recommend books because I agree with the author (I have after all, recommended books by a Nazi and a Europhile), I also recommend them because they provide interesting insights.

This is a political forum, and I think that the minimum wage is an important political issue. It enriches debate if you know what it is like to actually live on the minimum wage. This is the best book that I have read on the subject (OK, it's the only book that I have read on the subject), and as I have mentioned elsewhere, it also gives insight into the nature of the poverty trap, and how the government's contracting out policies work in practice.

Little Englander (sour) · 07-08-2007, 02:24 PM

Let her try being a pensioner on the minimum guaranteed income (£134.00) per week and see how she gets on.
JC, all workers have the option of withdrawing their labour, pensioners can only withdraw life itself. I some times wonder if this is not the thinking behind government policy.
I remember Peter Cook's remedy for unemployment, kill all the unemployed - unemployment problem solved.

Millennium3 · 07-08-2007, 04:41 PM

Somebody from this forum should go and live life on minimum pay for six months and show Toynbee up for what she is!

25-07-2007, 10:28 AM	#2 (permalink)
mkpdavies Uber Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Woking Posts: 30,604	I wouldn't give you the steam off my **** for anything this woman writes. The poor will be kept poor as long as people expect useless government to provide all the solutions. __________________ http://brits4ronpaul.blogspot.com/ http://wokinglibertarians.blogspot.com/ http://lpuk.org My ignore list Labour, Blue Labour, Lib Dems

26-07-2007, 01:06 PM	#7 (permalink)
g hall Uber Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: erehwon Posts: 5,217	Go to your library and sit down and read it - do not take it out as the silly cow makes money that way. Knowing NuLab it'll be full of patronising tosh __________________ "That government is best which governs least." "This is a sharp Medicine, but it is a Physician for all diseases and miseries". "To be "matter of fact" about the world is to blunder into fantasy --and dull fantasy at that, as the real world is strange and wonderful."

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25-07-2007, 10:41 PM	#4 (permalink)
Phil Sheldon Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 587	More complete and utter rubbish from this deluded woman. The National Minimum Wage: The minimum wage is a legal right which covers almost all workers above compulsory school leaving age. There are different minimum wage rates for different groups of workers as follows: The main rate for workers aged 22 and over increased on 1 October 2006 to £5.35 an hour from £5.05 an hour. The development rate for 18-21 year olds increased to £4.45 an hour from £4.25 an hour The development rate for 16-17 year old increased to £3.30 an hour from £3.00 an hour http://www.dti.gov.uk/employment/pay...age/index.html Will Hutton also has a reputation as a self-serving Left Winger-That's why he is a favourite on BBC News programmes. This book need to be recycled as quickly as possible for toilet paper.

26-07-2007, 12:07 AM	#5 (permalink)
pentameter Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 310	I'm not about to pay for a bleeding heart lecture from this very rich woman. What next? Something by Moonbat or the dreadful John Pilger?

26-07-2007, 12:09 AM	#6 (permalink)
Anthony Butcher Administrator Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Long Ashton, Bristol Posts: 9,820 Party: None	Someone recommended it...so I added it to the list

07-08-2007, 02:24 PM	#9 (permalink)
Little Englander (sour) Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Portsmouth Posts: 873 Party: English Democrats	Let her try being a pensioner on the minimum guaranteed income (£134.00) per week and see how she gets on. JC, all workers have the option of withdrawing their labour, pensioners can only withdraw life itself. I some times wonder if this is not the thinking behind government policy. I remember Peter Cook's remedy for unemployment, kill all the unemployed - unemployment problem solved.

07-08-2007, 04:41 PM	#10 (permalink)
Millennium3 Moderator Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Berkshire Posts: 4,179	Somebody from this forum should go and live life on minimum pay for six months and show Toynbee up for what she is!