Clegg announces fight against unpaid internships

The Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has launched a social mobility strategy designed to halt the growing trend of unpaid internships, stating that people should gain opportunities based on “what they know”, not who they know.

Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Harriet Harman argued that Mr Clegg was guilty of "betraying a generation of young people" by raising university fees for students in England. She said:

"I'm afraid the deputy prime minister gave up the right to pontificate on social mobility when he abolished education maintenance allowances, trebled tuition fees and betrayed a generation of young people.”

The proposed scheme will request that firms pay young people for doing work experience. Ben Lyons, co-director of Intern Aware said:

“It is encouraging that politicians have finally woken up to the scandal of Britain’s unpaid intern culture. But as part of any solution, Nick Clegg must address the widespread use of unpaid interns in his own party. When Intern Aware launched an investigation into the use of interns in Parliament, the majority of exploitative MPs were Liberal Democrats. There are currently seven Liberal Democrat MPs advertising for unpaid internships.

“The government’s proposals are promising but must go further. Companies should not be allowed to offer 'reasonable expenses'. Five pounds a day for food and drink is not enough to support anyone for two months in London. Crucially, the government should be working to end the proliferation of unpaid internships across all sectors of the economy, not just in the civil service.”

Mark Park, co-editor of Liberal Democrat Voice welcomed the strategy, stating that “far too much of people's chances in life is set by the circumstances of their birth rather than by what they try to do subsequently. Working in public relations, I know how important intern schemes are at opening up some of those opportunities to people.”

He went on to say that “the recent auctioning of intern posts at a Conservative Party fund-raising auction shows how in too many areas internships are the preserve of the rich and the well-connected.”