The great graduate scam

This year, there will be more graduates than ever leaving university and trying to get a foot on the job ladder.

So I think that the time has come to lift the lid on one of the most disgraceful scams of the New Labour years.

When Blair came to power he proclaimed that the three highest priorities of his new government were "Education! Education! Education!" Nothing wrong with that, I hear you say. But you are wrong.

In 1997, unemployment was falling largely because of the measures put in place by the outgoing Conservative administration. Labour was happy to let this run as it made them look good - but it knew that wouldn't last and the numbers out of work would start to rise again. So it brought in the great scam...

Labour persuaded ever increasing numbers of young people to stay on in full time education and made it easier to get to university by vastly increasing the numbers of available spaces. Now I would not want to insult students by suggesting that A level examiniations have got easier, but what cannot be disputed is the increase in pass rates. So not only do more people sit these exams, but a higher proportion pass them.

The effect of this is that ever increasing numbers of people are kept off the dole queues by spending another two years at school and three more at university, totalling 6 years if you add in the increasngly popular gap year. Unfortunately, this is a temporary respite which must eventually unwind, but it worked long enought for Blair to win two further elections.

Now it is all coming home to roost. There are far more graduates than jobs and the dole queues will swell again - but now Labour is gone and they will no doubt be quick to blame the new administration.

Cynical, hypocritical and effective. All the characteristics of a really great scam...