Every government that holds office always finds new ways to reinterpret the figures, they all try to create schemes and ways of describing, just so the figures don't look as bad when they leave office, because every government that has held office worked for the day not the future and so nothing has been put in place to ease or even eradicate future problems, it is all a case of bodge it and leg it or if it's broke try and hide it so the boss that is the public don't get to know and that hiding of the truth is simply done by re naming various groups within the unemployed.
For example when industry left our shores largely in the 1980's sense would say we don't need so many workers for the future, so there is no point in breeding them to become a drain on the system by having to pay them a subsistence to live in our expensive country, but what have we got, industry has not returned and we have a high population, so those responsible in the day were not thinking and they are still not thinking as births are encouraged by the state paying a portion of their upbringing via child benefit. But they won't cut child benefit because the world is watching and it is true our government must keep up appearances.
Then there is immigration, the business community actually wants it and this was revealed in the Beechcroft report and that because cheap labour has the effect to drive the wage bill down so more profit can be made, fine for the migrant worker but the indigenous no and for the majority of the indigenous wages are already at the lowest they can get to go any lower means the poverty trap where one earns enough to keep off benefits but not enough to live and bring up a family which is expected of everyone and has been the societal model for decades, the go to school, leave, get a job, meet someone , buy a house, have kids, retire etc, there is simply not the money to do that anymore.
Then there is the unemployed who would like to work but won't unless they see security because they also fear moving into the poverty trap that is the minimum wage.
You see what the benefit claimant gets per week it so proudly states on the form; This is what the government says you can live on, which is about £20 less than a pensioner on the state pension and yet because of the cost of oil, inflation hits the people of this country hard and people will notice the government is never good at putting it's money where it's mouth is and try living on what a pensioner earns per week, they daren't because unless one foregoes certain necessities, one cannot make ends meet.
So what is the answer, well my answer is close the borders to further ingress of migrants which we don't need because there is not the housing nor the jobs and our resources are already straining through private companies that maximise profit before service. Second, I would put a cap on births, no point encouraging birth rates if we do not have the capacity to support them and with wages so low through little industry to encourage births we would be encouraging children to be born into poverty, ( many are already ). Thirdly I would launch a campaign to let Britons know everyone is this country is important even the unemployed, as morale has got to be lifted for this country to start feeling proud of itself again and through pride who knows what may start as right now this almost vilification of the unemployed is doing this country harm, we are fracturing and dividing and as most would understand together we might stand a chance, but divided we will fall lower than we have done.
That is of course if the mandarins that rule this country want it to thrive, as if they don't there is little hope our politicians will ever lead us down the right path.
Oh and erm Great Britain to include Ireland was formed in 1801, so in effect the the Irish war of independence in 1921 should have ended Great Britain if it were not for the Northern Irish staying on board, but prior to 1801 Great Britain did not include Ireland and the Great was to differentiate between Britain and Brittany which phonetically sound the same and Britons did not want to be mistaken for Bretons.