"Kate Green, chief executive of the Child Poverty Action Group, described Ms Flint's comments as insulting and stigmatising..."

This sounds like a step in the right direction then. We should work to build a stigma around social housing and claiming benefits. Only when people feel embarrassment and shame for living in this manner, will they be motivated to work for a living and pay for what they consume.

Andrew, Croydon, UK

The proposal to disqualify council tenants is discriminatory. Many more long term unemployed get their accommodation from Housing Associations. Are they to be exempted from this proposal ? This is just hot air from a Labour government that for some reason ( probably the record government financial deficit) has decided they have to talk tough.

freddy, maidstone, kent

Why do Ministers come across as being so stupid, they seem prepared to say anything that will get them some publicity. I do not have a the benefit of a private or university education but even someone like myself who Caroline Flint would probably regard as uneducated can see this will not work. After they have been thrown out of the house where are they going to go apart from straight round to the housing department to be rehoused. I am just amazed this woman has been made a Minister she clearly has a lot to learn still.

A Seymour, Peterborough, England

The unemployed SHOULD have to work. I find it totally unfair that someone who doesn't work and has been given a council house should be able to breeze their way through life whilst I, having completed university a couple of years ago am having to slog through long days at work in the hope that maybe, if I work hard enough, in perhaps 7 or 8 years time I MIGHT be able to get a mortgage. My parents aren't well off, they don't live in London, but most graduate jobs are here and so I have to pay extortionate rental rates for a single bedroom (not a flat, just a room). So why should unemployed bums get to benefit from the tax I'm paying? They don't contribute at all to this economy and yet they get to have a say in how our country is run and our money is spent (voting) and get to suck money out from our hard earned and hard paid taxes. It makes me sick.

Louise, London,

If someone is fit to work and can show that he or she has applied for jobs on a regular basis, then that person should continue to get council accommodation. Either the government comes up with a guarantee of appropriate employment to council tenants (and tenants on housing benefit), or if it intends the job seeker to rely on the general employment market, then it cannot require guarantees from job seekers. About ten years ago, I was unemployed for 18 months. I applied in writing for over a thousand jobs during that period. many of them below my proven skills level. Eventually I got a job. How long would it have been before a minister like this one would decide to deny me any housing while still looking for a job.

I have no doubt that some people are abusing incapacity benefit - most of us probably know someone we suspect is doing this - but many others cannot guarantee to be regularly capable of work because of their illness.

The government is returning to 19th C standards.

A L Sen, London,

Ms Caroline Flint is clearly a winging liberal.

Throw them out of their council houses! What rubbish! The undeserving poor should be gassed, and rendered into fertilizer, so that they can finally be employed for something useful.

If Ms Flint were to spend a few minutes away from filling in her expenses claims, this obvious truth would quickly become evident to her.

Dave Morgan, Portree, United Kingdom

Keith, Liverpool,

get a job or get out! It's ppl like u who are bringing the country down. You'll spend your whole life moaning instead of trying to do something about it. Work for greenpeace or something, but get off your lazy backside.

Jackboy, london,

Do you want to hear the other side of the argument?
I refuse to work as a conscious revolutionary act. I will not do anything to prop up or help your society and system. In fact I will do everything in my power to undermine and destroy your society.
In my view people people who work are suckers, slaves, conformists and cattle destroying the planet.
I believe I have a revolutionary obligation to live off you (a traitor ) and your taxes. I have eight children and haven't worked for eighteen years despite having two degrees.
Your system is terminally rotten and corrupt. You are sheeple and only deserve contempt
I want to live in an organic nation like my grandparents did. Deport all foreigners and I will gladly scrub the streets clean for free.

Keith, Liverpool, UK

One of the - very, very few - sensible ideas to come out of this otherwise benighted government!

Chris, London,

Interesting that a Housing Minister should get involved in Work and Pensions policy. Perhaps it's to divert attention away from the fact that we have no Housing Policy.
Maybe all jobs should come with free accommodation, just like MP's.

Bob S, Derbyshire, uk

its called 'survival of the fittest', if you dont work- you dont survive- you end up on the streets - simple as.

Then when the 'defect' species die off we have a race which is more superior and we do not have 'happy slapping' chavs beating up fathers.

I say shes got a brilliant plan!!!!

Tom, London, UK

I hear there is a shortage of skilled plumbers.

Donald Duckworth, Langport, Somerset, UK

louis Blanc, citizens of the A8 Countries - those who came into the union in 2004 do not have access to social housing. your statement is incorrect. The 'east europeans' that you refer to have added massive value to our economy and our industries, in many cases they have taken the jobs that some brits feel are beneath them. Many if our care homes and our supported housing units now have dedicated and trained staff that before were impossible to find. Whilst i do not agree with the current proposal, i do believe we need to take a long honest look at the state of our nation and our workforce.

M Witko, London, England

This is one of the few things that New Labour have proposed that I agree with. Makes a change from the endless control freakery, laws, spying and taxes. Caroline Flint strikes me as quite a determined person, I remember she was the only person from Labour who had the nerve to go on Question Time after some government disaster. She might be able to focus the minds of some of the layabouts. Good luck to her.

Simon, Chatham, Kent

"1984" has arrived- albeit 24 years late.

The Labour party has finally had enough of the working class and underclass.

Children are being taken from mothers breasts in hospital, never to be seen again. Now people are being told they will be taken out of their homes to where ?

The energy companies and utilities companies are bleeding
their customers dry with ever increasing prices.

Cartels are rife in every private business and food giants while local councils which are supposed to provide services for the residents are just regimes now with their diktats on rubbish collections, motoring and interfering with all levels of transport.
A pathetic national health service in terminal decline where managerial clerical staff can earn £150k.pa yet nurses who work anti-social hours earn a tenth of that


Its all a sham, bluster and snake-oil.

I see similarities with the Russian progroms, jewish ghettoes
and ethnic cleansing.

Bluster & Bull.

Kev Somers, Hertford, Herts

What??

As disgruntled said, you should earn your way in life. Get these spongers back to work... by hook or by crook.

People who go on about being charitable are talking tosh in most cases. It was recently published that our incapacity benefit claimants are about 2 million higher than they should be, some of them for ludicrous reasons like acne.

Since when is being ugly a good enough reason for incapacity benefit? I'm below the average height for a male, maybe someone will give me a free house and loads of money to sit around all day.

Maybe the people that support the continuation of this ludicrous situation are wealthier than me and can afford to support these spongers. Me, I'm just trying to get by on the bit I earn and can't afford to let my money be wasted in such profligate fashion. Something does need doing now, the longer the situation continues, the worse the backlash will be.

No wonder people are leaving this country in droves.

martin, bridgwater,

Can see where she's coming from, but this is badly thought out. Nobody in power is prepared to admit that a lot of benefit scroungers are making a perfectly rational decision - why work if it might COST you money? I am not saying I think that is OK, but it is how it is. Trying to prevent people from making that rational decision is not likely to be succesful. I think the only real way to do something about it, is to make it a rational decision to go to work. And that means there has to be a HUGE gap between working and not working. Not £10 a week or whatever. Yes, they will still have a right to a roof over their heads (of sorts and not necessarily in the local authority of their choice) and you cannot let them starve, but apart from that I think living on benefit long term unfortunately has to be absolutely awful and people will work it out for themselves. Not more regulation, especially when it does not address the real issue.

Tim, London,

If i dont work ( never been unemployed,never claimed benefit) I cant pay my mortgage, I lose my house! Its simple. Why do i have to continue to work and pay tax for those who refuse to get off their butts and earn their money,

Dizz, Sussex,

And who are the new council tenants these days??
Why of course the East Europeans!!

louis blanc, Liverpool, Merseyside

I comprehend the Housing Minister's point of view. However, there are people who may need to build up their lives before settling into employment for whatever reason and I think that should be taken into account. I think we need a concrete housing social policy that can be used as a basis to build upon and this can be achieved by both the government and appropriate organisations who can together establish a suitable social policy for the benefit of those who require it.

Marie-Claire Oliver, Bath, United Kingdom

The unemployed need somewhere to stay in order to find work not be on the streets. Ms flint needs the sack most of all.

David Lidiard, Dorchester, England

The suggestion that someone who doesn't want to work should cause a family to be evicted (and presumably put on the street) is unbelievably stupid and/or heartless.
A competent PM would sack Flint for this. Either she has not thought the policy through, calling her judgement into question, or she is not charitable enough to be Housing Minister. Either way she should be evicted from her job.

William Bowie, Edinburgh,

The problem here is in several parts:

1 there are now several generations of families living on estates brought up with the expectation of benefits, including housing, being provided at no effort from themselves. This cycle of following in the footsteps of forefathers needs to be broken somehow and there is nothing actually wrong with suggesting a solution, which will probably entail part carrot, part stick. Let's not kid ourselves, we have "encouraged" these people for years with support, family credits, subsidised housing, etc. Frankly, maybe a bit of stick as well is needed here.

2 I have no problem with immigrants here to do work, if we have more jobs than people (which we don't, all the previously unemployed now seem to be on incapacity benefit).

3 Asylum seekers should be sent to the country in the EU with the capacity to house them at least cost, Maybe it should be a condition of receiving the EU grants and accession that new joiners have to accept all the immigrants

disgruntled, Bristol, UK

In response to the comment that people can't get jobs, through no fault of their own, how is it a million or so immigrants who can't speak the language manage it?

We do have probably in the region of 1 1/2 to 2 million out of the unemployed and those on incapacity benefits who could relatively easily be gainfully employed, that was published recently.

We should consider social works, such as street sweeping, cleaning canals, etc as all capable of being done by these people. I am fed up of seeing on the one hand my council tax, etc go up and services declining, whilst knowing we have all these people sitting around essentially being paid to do nothing!!

Oh and I was brought up some of the worst estates from a poor (irish) immigrant family and worked my way out of them, so I am not speaking as some middle or upper class person who has never experienced the kind of thing being discussed. It's just my family had principles, one of which was you always earned and paid your own way.

disgruntled, Bristol, UK

Does Caroline Flint have a heart of stone?

Dr Ian Burgess, Bristol,

The idea that certain people can give up on life and live off everybody else is now seeming unacceptable ... Since the east europeans have arrived and found work and do it well and employers prefer them the lie that unemployment was unavoidable is gone utterly gone ..... The claimant class simply dont want to work and so employers don't want to employ them ,,, and tax payers don't want to fund them anymore. Their kids ( with expensive mobile phones ) cause nothing but trouble at school because they plan a career around claiming support and working for cash, hence the figures showing that social mobilty is getting worse.

fiona , plymouth ,

I really cannot believe that a labour MP thinks like this. What does she want to do with the people who can't actually get jobs through no fault of their own? Throw them on the streets, have the rest of us stepping over them as they beg on the streets? Have these people attacking us for the price of a cup of tea? I am a lifelong labour voter and I am totally and utterly ashamed that someone in the position of power to change the system thinks this way. She will out (along with the rest of the government) if she try's to implement it anyway.

Does she think we are too stupid to see that the reason for the rise is because there are hardly any council houses left? This government have been in power for over 10 years and that is long enough to reverse the damage done by Thatchers council home sell off but instead they have done hardly anything in that area. And that is the reason we face the housing crisis we face today.

I'm deeply ashamed of them.

Kim, London,

About time! With rights come responsibilities, and its about time the chronically lazy were reminded of it. Her proposal is not to force them to get a job, but at least make a pretence of looking for one. No-one denies some areas just don't have jobs, but there is no excuse for sitting on your backside watching Sky Sports, living off my taxes.

Loosehead, Basingstoke,

It is sometimes hard to fathom the level of idiocy of some of our ministers. If the unemployed were asked to leave their council flats they would be deemed homeless, they would then be housed at b&b's at a cost of £300 per week to taxpayers. Another
kneejerk soundbite reaction - some sensiible policies would make a change.

Mark, Epping, Esssex

Spence, London, South East

Oh so right! It is a catch22 situation and watching the disintegration of the Welfare state from afar is quite interesting.

I got fed up with paying for the layabouts and upped sticks and left, along with many others. The exodus is only going to get worse, and those that remain behind are not going to be enough to pay bill.

Morvan, Saulieu, France

Funny how many Audi TTS and Mercs you see on council estates these days, big fat sky dishes too. The right of anyone to have a council flat should be constantly reassessed. Families seem to have automatic rights on the properties and they get passed down through the generations, thats why there are so few available. I'm paying for this scam too in the tax I pay, thats why I can't afford a sky dish! We have the culture now of 'once youre in a council flat they cant kick you out' which is wrong and unfair to those who actually need it.

AR, London, London

I too work in social housing and it is rare to find a council tenant in inner London who speaks English to any standard that would qualify them for a job. Ms Flint appears to headline grabbing without spending ten minutes looking at the facts first. I'll happily show her around the other side of Westminster Bridge but will my offer be taken up?

Adrian, London,

Are they going to reopen all the mines and factories closed down during the Thatcher and Blair years which led to some of these problems??
Maybe they could become Daddie's research assistant.

Chris Dunstable

C. Pope, Dunstable,

This is complete rubbish.
What are the Government/council going to do? its no good threatening people unless you carry out the threat which they will not do. so a family of 4, 2 kids and 2 parents and none of them work. They get kicked out for not working, The Government/council will have to rehouse them you can't leave them on the street.
So what fine them, they don't work so they cant pay but it will cost the tax payer a foturne to get them into court.
You cannot win on this one unless the government wants our society to go back to Victorian times where families are living on the street in the gutter.

Spence, London, South East

It'll only affect new council house tenants not the ones that are already there. As hardly any council houses ever seem to come up that will be hardly anyone who has to sign up to this latest load of daydreaming. Flint was banging on on Radio 4 about promoting a nattonal debate on the subject ...yawn...we've heard this sort of drivel too many times. Yet another NuLab false dawn, bring on tomorrows!

Don, London,

Does this apply to the person on the tenancy or to all others in the property at workable age? Its about time we prioritised to the more deserving rather than the most needy which is often not the same thing.

carol, Leicester, London (Sorry, UK)

obviously a good idea but there is the sutudation of people like me who earn £30K a year and my wife who works part-time in the evenings, plus three evenings a week for me, we have two children and are refused a mortgage but also refused council housing because of the fact we wrok and have incomes!! The experience i have is that the minorities and lethargic working population are able to breeze through certain aspects of life with almost an expectance that they are owed something. whereas hardworking and other needy people are dismissed on the basis of their ability and initiative to make something of their lives.

Shaun, aylesbury, england

Immigrants take the jobs that UK nationals don't want, basically because they are crap jobs with low pay, and immigrants can be forced to do more. So we now have less crap jobs anyway, because the system has found a way to legalise slavery. And now there are even more unemployed UK nationals (not to mention non UK nationals). So where do all these social housing tenants find their work?

I have a great solution, throw all the UK nationals onto the streets and import more desperate immigrants and house them in their place. I can only see one problem here, how long before the immigrants have a change of heart about working in crap jobs at low pay, before we are back to square one?

Vincent, Conwy, Wales

This is more of 'lets kick the poor they deserve it and don't matter', it sickens me that both main political parties like to try and curry favour with middle-classes by attacking the poorest members of society.Typical.

Dave, Lancashire, UK

The flaw in all of this is that there are a sizeable number of unemployed people who are unemployable - many of them have no skills whatsoever, no work ethic, unwilling to get out of bed in the morning. No employer will touch them with a bargepole, and who can blame them? Add to that a benefits system which gives these wasters more money for drawing the dole that they would get working and you really have an unsolvable problem.

Archie, Helensburgh, UK

About time too, but let's not forget that Mr Brown and the previous lot caused the problems or allowed them to happen

Dave Madley, Alicante, Spain

Surely one has to prove a "commitment" to actively seeking new work in order to claim dole money, anyway?

This will just end up in another layer of pointless council workers, with our council tax going to pay for “Commitment Contract Co-ordinators” and “Active Employment Outreach Workers”.

Paranoid, Hartlepool,

On one hand tha government wants social tenants to be more responsible but on the other is introducing the local housing allowance which will end the ability for private landlords to receive housing benefit directly until tenants are 8 weeks in arrears, however council and housing association tenants are not included in the scheme. Thus removing this "financial inclusion" from a great number of tenants, though only a cynic would conclude that councils and housing associations don't want to miss out on 8 weeks rent ,that in many cases will be pocketed. As a result private landlords will be less likely to accept tenants on benefits which will move towards the social housing sector thus exacerbating Miss Flints problem, Joined up government,in my dreams.

P.S , margate, kent

The Tory response says it all - more ideas from cloud cuckoo land - who on earth dreams them up? If it is a think tank, time for a refill

Terry Hawker, L'Absie, France

I think this is one of the best proposals to come out of the Labour party in years. Will it ever happen though? I doubt it.

Andrew, Leeds , UK

whilst people dont have a job

they should be made to work up to the value of the benefit they recieve

but not at the minimum wage

at a good rate of pay

eg if you get £60 benefit you'll do 4 hours work at £15 per hour

get them to deal with some of the problems that are not adequately addressed

eg removing grafitti - regardless of who owns the building

as think this idea that council will only move grafitti from their own buildings is rediculous

maria, liverpool,

As a Housing Officer who allocates Council properties if the powers that be require a change in the make up of our estates then they need to look at the way properties are allocated.
If the only people who can access Council housing are 'High Needs' applicants, Asylum seekers or housholds dependant on benefits you are not going going to create estates with a good mix of households. As Council properties are in high demand with no significant 'new build' for thirty years or more and demand outstripping what limited stock we have we need to review who we offer them to. Why not offer a certain number to families who are working or those with a local connection.

Yes, we have a duty to homeless or high needs applicants and these will be catered for but so will all the other young families who in many areas would give their high teeth for a secure tenancy with an accountable landlord.

This way everybody gets a slice of the pie.
Build more Council Houses - NOW !

Glyn, Bolton, Lancs