Frank Field wrong on workless households
8:30 am - May 22nd 2012
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The Labour MP Frank Field is quoted in the Telegraph today, in a story headlined: Britain must limit European immigration during the recession, says ex-Labour minister Frank Field.
Frank field in a ‘we must do something about immigration‘ shocker.
He said temporary restrictions would help give the Government’s welfare reforms a “fair wind”, as ministers try to encourage the long-term workless back into jobs.
“It’s come to a head because I found out that one in five households has never ever had work,” he told The Daily Telegraph. “During the recession, the Government just needs to tell Brussels that we just can’t have free movement of labour.
The figure is wrong.
The actual number of households where no one has ever had work is 1.8%, not 18.8%.
@britishfuture @Telegraph Did FF really say “I found out 1 in 5 households has never ever had work”? True figure: 1.8%telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/8…
— Jonathan Portes (@jdportes) May 21, 2012
Correct stat for households where nobody has ever worked 1.8% telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/8… not 1 in 5 (Frank Field’s claim) telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/…
— Sunder Katwala (@sundersays) May 21, 2012
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Reader comments
Uyter clap trap.
More statistics made up to suit whatever agenda you want to promote.
I sugget spending a day in the offices that actually deal with (and hide) the actual reality.
Be it the council, police etc
Awful blog
I sugget spending a day in the offices that actually deal with (and hide) the actual reality.
What offices are they, could you get me a placement?
@ Dave
“What offices are they, could you get me a placement?”
It’s the Ministry of Truth. It deals with unmaking the past in a desperate attempt to subdue the searing political guile of Mr “Why should I” above.
The number of unemployed is apparently around 8% of the population or so (might have gone up recently thanks to austerity), so quite how that translates into just shy of 20% of households ‘never ever having worked’ I don’t know.
“I sugget spending a day in the offices that actually deal with (and hide) the actual reality.”
Oh gosh, how exciting, I want to work in one of those offices as well, are they underground, or perhaps located in a cave, does the boss have a white fluffy cat which he strokes in a menancing manner? Do you get to wear a pair of shoes out of which pops a knife. Please tell me where I can get an application form to apply for a job in of of these offices.
Kind regards.
“Frank Field wrong” should cover pretty much any story. I am mystified as to why the cult of him persists (and, for that matter, why he hasn’t had the party whip withdrawn). He talks a good game and surrounds himself with a fan club who believe that he’s a serious thinker; in reality, he’s spent years hob-nobbing at right wing think tanks and taken to spouting their crack-pot unworkable ideas (his wife should really buy him a calculator for Christmas, the costings of his plans never add up). Blair gave him carte blanche to “think the unthinkable” in the first administration. He couldn’t deliver, his inability to come up with anything workable starkly exposed, so Blair fired him. All political careers famously end in failure; his should have ended years ago and someone who is openly working with the govt manifestly should not be in the PLP
Frank Field is an MP for one of the strongest Labour constituencies in the country and also one of the constituencies that has suffered a lot with the de-industrilisation of the country, yet he seems to be doing the Tories work for them. Looking at his website I am struggling to find any reference to The Labour Party and no link to The Labour Party website.
Now some things he says may have a ring of truth to it but I wish he would champion how Labour can help the working people and the disadvantaged and how Labour can help his constituency of Birkenhead. Or should I say he is more of an enigma and independent MP?
Theory 1
DT missed off the ‘.’ to make a good headline and promote a specific agenda making themselves look stupid by putting out a clearly bullshit statistic.
Theory 2
Cockup.
Personally I go with #2
@ 8
Yeah, never attribute to malice that which could be better attributed to incompetence.
Frank Field is terrified of the ‘Other’ – women (especially women not tied to a man – argh!), foreigners, etc. I wish journalists and politicos would stop giving this frightened, bigoted man any more airspace.
I have been and checked the quote and it is in the print edition but has now disappeared from the online version.
So, well done, everybody.
Field will probably be back in the not too distant future with some more false statistics to scapegoat the poor or immigrants or poor immigrants.
That’s Frank for you.
@8 The error is too big to attribute it to a cock-up. It’s incompetence pure and simple. Field has seen a figure which supports his views and hasn’t bothered to hesitate even for a moment to question its validity.
There was an item on the Today programme this morning on the importance of mathematics. It included a reference to being able to understand and question statistics. This is an ideal example of when statistics should be questioned.
@ 12 Simon
“The error is too big to attribute it to a cock-up. It’s incompetence pure and simple. Field has seen a figure which supports his views and hasn’t bothered to hesitate even for a moment to question its validity.”
True, there’s a lack of basic rigour here. Field should have actually thought about the alleged figure, and how it doesn’t match the obvious reality.
More statistics made up to suit whatever agenda you want to promote.
Approximately 87% of statistics are made up on the spot.
@6. Jonathan
“Frank Field wrong” should cover pretty much any story. I am mystified as to why the cult of him persists
So am I. He’s my MP, I’m very sorry to say, and for reasons that continue to mystify me – I’ve worked, and later lived, in Birkenhead since 1972, and it’s a total mystery to me how Field still has such a rock-solid seat.
Even the proposed gerrymandering of electoral boundaries won’t shift him, an acknowledgement that he really is a closet Tory, perhaps?
“Field still has such a rock-solid seat”
Because in safe labour areas, it acts more like the mafia than a political party. The advantage of incumbancy (locally) attracts people to the party who are less interested in principles and more in advancing their own career and achieving power. The same happens with the tories in the south.
Planeshift, absolutely spot on, particularly in safe seats.
Join a Party, attend Ward meetings and watch it happen.
The greasy pole is always centre stage and goes some way to explain the mediocrity of our politicians.
I can’t speak for all trade unions, but the two that I was a member of were exactly the same.
16. Planeshift
Because in safe labour areas, it acts more like the mafia than a political party. The advantage of incumbancy (locally) attracts people to the party who are less interested in principles and more in advancing their own career and achieving power. The same happens with the tories in the south.
Actually whatever else you can say about Frank Field, he is clearly not interested in advancing his own career or achieving power. In fact pretty much everyone here is agreed it is a miracle he has kept his seat and not been thrown out of the Labour Party. I would go one step further and say it is even more surprising he has not been hounded out of public life the way that Keith Joseph was. When he first opened his mouth, he must have thought he would be.
You may hate his principles, but there is no denying that he has been entirely driven by them. Which is not necessarily a good thing in politics as Keith Joseph and Enoch Powell showed before him. I assume that it is a reflection of the times a’changing and the fact that even the London based media can see the nose before their face these days.
Aren’t any of you lefties prepared to admit that Frank Field represents the socially conservative values of a once large section of the old Labour Party?
” Frank Field, he is clearly not interested in advancing his own career or achieving power.”
As things stay he gets a backbenchers salary supplemented by newspaper columns and future expectations of directorships (perhaps already). Furthermore If a blairite takes over from Ed, his high profile assures him of a shadow cabinet/cabinet post. If he gets chucked out of labour, the tories will give him a seat in the lords plus an advisory position.
I’d say his time since resigning from the cabinet and building a high profile for himself hasn’t entirely ruined his career.
@ 19 Trooper Thompson
“Aren’t any of you lefties prepared to admit that Frank Field represents the socially conservative values of a once large section of the old Labour Party?”
Not just socially, given that he’s obviously desperate to believe/pretend that the vulnarable aren’t vulnerable and therefore we can stop helping them. Yeah, there are a lot of socially conservative socialists (see The Mirror), but when you’re a socially conservative fiscal conservative, that “conservative” label is hard to shake…
Reactions: Twitter, blogs
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Liberal Conspiracy
Frank Field wrong on 'never worked' households http://t.co/RxeL8VKP
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Anna Hubbard
Frank Field wrong on 'never worked' households http://t.co/RxeL8VKP
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sunny hundal
Frank Field MP quoted in the Telegraph saying a fifth of households have 'never worked'. Is wrong http://t.co/qSdi1hrb (ht @sundersays)
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Lauren G
Frank Field MP quoted in the Telegraph saying a fifth of households have 'never worked'. Is wrong http://t.co/qSdi1hrb (ht @sundersays)
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VirtualResistance
Frank Field MP quoted in the Telegraph saying a fifth of households have 'never worked'. Is wrong http://t.co/qSdi1hrb (ht @sundersays)
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Robert Ryan
Frank Field MP quoted in the Telegraph saying a fifth of households have 'never worked'. Is wrong http://t.co/qSdi1hrb (ht @sundersays)
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Alan Fry
Frank Field MP quoted in the Telegraph saying a fifth of households have 'never worked'. Is wrong http://t.co/qSdi1hrb (ht @sundersays)
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They Call Him Woodo
Frank Field MP quoted in the Telegraph saying a fifth of households have 'never worked'. Is wrong http://t.co/qSdi1hrb (ht @sundersays)
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Neil Courtman
Frank Field MP quoted in the Telegraph saying a fifth of households have 'never worked'. Is wrong http://t.co/qSdi1hrb (ht @sundersays)
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Karanvir Singh
Frank Field MP quoted in the Telegraph saying a fifth of households have 'never worked'. Is wrong http://t.co/qSdi1hrb (ht @sundersays)
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Brian Tomkinson
Frank Field MP quoted in the Telegraph saying a fifth of households have 'never worked'. Is wrong http://t.co/qSdi1hrb (ht @sundersays)
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Kirst
Frank Field MP quoted in the Telegraph saying a fifth of households have 'never worked'. Is wrong http://t.co/qSdi1hrb (ht @sundersays)
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Jason Brickley
Frank Field wrong on ‘never worked’ households http://t.co/FrToE6Qq
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leftlinks
Liberal Conspiracy – Frank Field wrong on ‘never worked’ households http://t.co/f9Awp7eb
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BevR
Frank Field wrong on ‘never worked’ households | Liberal Conspiracy http://t.co/2Idy62Qr via @libcon
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Laura Marcus
Frank Field wrong on ‘never worked’ households, points out @jdportes http://t.co/cxyfkpAc via @libcon
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Abigail Scott Paul
Frank Field wrong on ‘never worked’ households, points out @jdportes http://t.co/cxyfkpAc via @libcon
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paulstpancras
Frank Field wrong on ‘never worked’ households, points out @jdportes http://t.co/cxyfkpAc via @libcon
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Patrick Torsney
Frank Field wrong on ‘never worked’ households, points out @jdportes http://t.co/cxyfkpAc via @libcon
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christine clifford
Liberal Conspiracy – Frank Field wrong on ‘never worked’ households http://t.co/f9Awp7eb
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Carole
Frank Field wrong on ‘never worked’ households | Liberal Conspiracy http://t.co/2Idy62Qr via @libcon
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HullRePublic
RT @jrf_uk: Frank Field wrong on ‘never worked’ households, points out @jdportes http://t.co/DlU7ljkb via @libcon
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James Evans
Frank Field wrong on ‘never worked’ households, points out @jdportes http://t.co/cxyfkpAc via @libcon
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Robin Tennant
Frank Field wrong on ‘never worked’ households, points out @jdportes http://t.co/cxyfkpAc via @libcon
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Yvonne Roberts
Frank Field wrong on ‘never worked’ households, points out @jdportes http://t.co/cxyfkpAc via @libcon
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Craig Stirrat
Frank Field wrong on ‘never worked’ households, points out @jdportes http://t.co/cxyfkpAc via @libcon
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Carole
Frank Field wrong on ‘never worked’ households, points out @jdportes http://t.co/cxyfkpAc via @libcon
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Baydons Meadow Group
Frank Field wrong on ‘never worked’ households, points out @jdportes http://t.co/cxyfkpAc via @libcon
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Katrine Williams
@jrf_uk Politicians should focus on creating jobs, not scapegoat individuals for being unemployed using false stats. http://t.co/z9si7CRa
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BoycottWorkfare
“@jrf_uk: Frank Field wrong on ‘never worked’ households, points out @jdportes http://t.co/AJmmJ0W1" <- Frank Field wrong on EVERYTHING.
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Gerald
“@jrf_uk: Frank Field wrong on ‘never worked’ households, points out @jdportes http://t.co/AJmmJ0W1" <- Frank Field wrong on EVERYTHING.
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Innerwisdom
“@jrf_uk: Frank Field wrong on ‘never worked’ households, points out @jdportes http://t.co/AJmmJ0W1" <- Frank Field wrong on EVERYTHING.
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Paul Trembath
“@jrf_uk: Frank Field wrong on ‘never worked’ households, points out @jdportes http://t.co/AJmmJ0W1" <- Frank Field wrong on EVERYTHING.
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Ferret Dave
“@jrf_uk: Frank Field wrong on ‘never worked’ households, points out @jdportes http://t.co/AJmmJ0W1" <- Frank Field wrong on EVERYTHING.
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TeresaMary
“@jrf_uk: Frank Field wrong on ‘never worked’ households, points out @jdportes http://t.co/AJmmJ0W1" <- Frank Field wrong on EVERYTHING.
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Vivienne Ward
“@jrf_uk: Frank Field wrong on ‘never worked’ households, points out @jdportes http://t.co/AJmmJ0W1" <- Frank Field wrong on EVERYTHING.
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ivor williams
“@jrf_uk: Frank Field wrong on ‘never worked’ households, points out @jdportes http://t.co/AJmmJ0W1" <- Frank Field wrong on EVERYTHING.
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Air Adam
“@jrf_uk: Frank Field wrong on ‘never worked’ households, points out @jdportes http://t.co/AJmmJ0W1" <- Frank Field wrong on EVERYTHING.
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BevR
Frank Field wrong on workless households | Liberal Conspiracy http://t.co/2Idy62Qr via @libcon
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Neil Bradley
Telegraph quietly removes Frank Field quote exaggerating number of ppl who hadn't worked http://t.co/s0Lk8hsw / Mine: http://t.co/HLKGWrup
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Mrs Lionel Messi
Frank Field wrong on workless households | Liberal Conspiracy http://t.co/PvnFlUG3 via @libcon
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Foxy52
Frank Field wrong on workless households | Liberal Conspiracy http://t.co/2Idy62Qr via @libcon
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Marzia Gitto
Frank Field wrong on ‘never worked’ households, points out @jdportes http://t.co/cxyfkpAc via @libcon
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Tony Dowling
Telegraph quietly removes Frank Field quote exaggerating number of ppl who hadn't worked http://t.co/s0Lk8hsw / Mine: http://t.co/HLKGWrup
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Lynn Hancock
Telegraph quietly removes Frank Field quote exaggerating number of ppl who hadn't worked http://t.co/s0Lk8hsw / Mine: http://t.co/HLKGWrup
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Dr Anne Brunton
Telegraph quietly removes Frank Field quote exaggerating number of ppl who hadn't worked http://t.co/s0Lk8hsw / Mine: http://t.co/HLKGWrup
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Inna Mood
Telegraph quietly removes Frank Field quote exaggerating number of ppl who hadn't worked http://t.co/s0Lk8hsw / Mine: http://t.co/HLKGWrup
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Patrick Edwin Cooley
Frank Field MP quoted in the Telegraph saying a fifth of households have 'never worked'. Is wrong http://t.co/qSdi1hrb (ht @sundersays)
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Have 1 in 5 households really never worked as ‘Labour’ MP Frank Field has stated? Full Fact investigates … | Black Triangle Campaign
[…] to this. At the time of writing, it has actually been removed from the Telegraph article, although Liberal Conspiracy and others have also noted the […]
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