Rather than simply rant-on I took myself off to have a gander at the "simply the best" Daily Star and the IPPR think tank.
It seems that the article is little more than cobbled together hype. With selective quotations fitted in to suit the editorial line.
I am sure the paper needs more and more folk back in work even if only so that more people can gamble and ogle barely-legal teens (or young ladies with pride in their assets). Perhaps not being able to watch popular TV shows all day will create more of a hunger for puff-stories reliant on them, plenty of that to be had.
Anyway, as I tried to search the IPPR site with a few quotes from the story above and got nowhere, except that the increase in long-term unemployed seemed to be from a press release dated last May.
And finally...
As the hard working over-taxed consumers and rate payers go about their daily doings little do they realise that a little of all that they spend goes towards giving tawdry media outlets press reports to misquote...
http://www.ippr.org/about-us/how-we-are-funded