The misguided rich kid speaks again

Labour whizzkid Rory Weal hits back at 'rich kid' snipes and vows to keep having a go at David Cameron

The 16-year-old boy whose speech took the Labour Party conference by storm has broken his silence to hit back at ­critics of his well-off ­background.
Rory Weal was ­accused of being “Rich Kid Rory” and a “fraud” after his ­electrifying ­explanation of how the welfare state saved his family when his father’s business failed.
But in his first interview since the attacks he says: “People can throw any names at me they want. It won’t stop me ­speaking out.

There was an awful lot in that original speech that could be classed as fraudulent, although most of it was probably just misguided. Being brought up in a socialist setting and being taught that the welfare state is the holy grail, he probably firmly believes every word he said.

“If ­anything it’s spurred me on to say why I think David ­Cameron is hitting the people who need help in this country the ­hardest.”
With ­jobless ­figures hitting a 17-year high this week, he added: “Youth unemployment figures are, to be frank, appalling. This ­Government’s ­reckless measures have a lot to answer for.”

If you want to talk about youth unemployment, why not start with the minimum wage and the appalling education system that are both legacies of the past Labour government.

When you subject children so socialist indoctrination through the first eleven years of education, then tell them everyone has a right to a university education regardless of ability, you breed a generation of youngsters with degrees in nail art, no practical abilities and terrible academic skills.

Next you price them out of entry level jobs with an overly inflated minimum wage. Of course youth unemployment is going to rise. Did you not see that coming?

David Camerons only faults in this area are not having the balls to reform the education system and scrap the minimum wage.

Rory, who lives in ­Maidstone, Kent, insists he stands by what he said “110 per cent”. He says: “I have never denied I was from a ­comfortable ­background. But does that mean when you fall on hard times you can’t expect the safety net of help from the welfare state?
“When I was 13 my dad’s business started to go ­downhill. One day there was a knock on the door and we were told our house was being ­repossessed.

One would assume that a successful business man would have his own safety net in place to protect his family if things go wrong. A repossession does not begin with a man knocking at the door and saying, "Out". However, if he's paid into the system then I suppose he deserves to take something back out if needed.

(Just like all us smokers who are guaranteed NHS treatment when we need it. Ahem)

The point this kid is missing is that the system which protected his family is no longer fit for purpose. It is not there just to offer a safety net to those who have fallen on hard times while they look for work, it now provides a suitable income for those who simply don't want to work.

It allows young girls to have unwanted children in order to secure housing and an income. It allows alcoholics to pay for their habit without having to lift a finger. It allows generations of families to simply give up work and live at the expense of the taxpayer, couples to have children they can't afford and mothers to give up work to raise them.

It buys iPads, X-boxes, TV's, trainers, tracksuits, Blackberrys, Stella and laptops for people who believe these things are human rights rather than something which must be bought through the fruits of hard work.

He says: “My mother didn’t have a job. The welfare state got us through. It put food on the table. I often wonder what would have ­happened if that system wasn’t there.”

No one is asking to disband the welfare system and throw people on the streets to starve. What we need is a welfare system that cannot be exploited by the lazy and feckless but only works to assist those in genuine need.

Rory, [...] is particularly enraged by the ­scrapping of the Education ­Maintenance Scheme, which used to help teenagers like him through further ­education.

The EMS was a totally unnecessary waste of money. It was given to people to spend on booze or whatever they wanted. I remember when the scheme was scrapped, one girl was wailing in the papers that she was using it to pay for her driving lessons and was gutted that she wouldn't now be able to afford them. Another was actually saving it up for a car.

“Not having it means I have to save every spare penny for textbooks, things for college and lunches. It is my ambition to go to university to study politics and history but I have no idea if I will be able to afford it. It is a ­worry.”

That's all part of getting on in life as an adult. Get a student loan. If you intend to be a politician you will have more than enough of other peoples money to pay it off with.