General Election 2010: Nick Clegg clashes with student
NICK Clegg was yesterday confronted by an angry student who attacked Liberal Democrat plans for jobless youngsters.
In a heated clash at South Birmingham College, Maya Black, 26, said of the proposals to give youngsters 90 days of work experience: “It’s a glorified piece of paper, that’s all it is.”
In an attempt to defuse her anger, the Lib Dem leader joked: “You should go into politics.”
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Mr Clegg then told Ms Black: “You are right, just doing another training course doesn’t create work.”
He added, however, that there was nothing worse than to have a young person sitting at home “feeling isolated, cut off, not being in the world of work”. Ms Black, who is on a health course and hopes to become a paramedic, protested.
But Mr Clegg told her: “You may shake your head, but the most important thing for a young person in that situation is not that I promise I can conjure up a job out of thin air...but that at least you keep young people motivated.”
When Ms Black argued that his idea “actually de-motivates people”, the Lib Dem leader asked: “What is the alternative? What do you want to do?” Ms Black interrupted him and, to applause from her fellow students, said: “You shouldn’t be asking me that – I’m asking you.”
Speaking after Mr Clegg left the college, the student, who has previously worked in recruitment, said she was not happy with his response. “He just really angered me,” she said.