Alan Campbell MP: Young people have the talent and skills to succeed

A million young people Not in Education, Employment or Training is not only an economic calamity but, as the Prime Minister has said, a moral failure. We all know some young person with time on their hands, often in their bedroom communicating with an online community rather than their actual community. It’s an easy swipe to criticise them for their situation but cuts in the services they need like mental health support or support to get into work, their childhood interrupted by Covid and a jobs market damaged by austerity and Brexit have all taken a toll.

In any debate about a rising welfare bill there’s clearly a choice. Support young people into work or settle for them being the next generation of claimants. We can’t and won’t let the latter happen. That means rebuilding our education system and championing technical as well as academic pathways. It means more apprenticeships and more job offers in retail and hospitality. It’s about putting a wage into someone’s pocket but it’s also about building confidence, respect and responsibility. It also needs businesses to step up as they are doing because when government and business work together then we make real progress.

This is currently the generation projected, for the first time, to achieve less than their parents generation. We must turn that around. It needs buy in from parents, schools, businesses, government at all levels but most of all the young people themselves. They have the talent and skills to succeed. They need a fairer deal and that’s what they will get under this government.