Youth Unemployment

Steff Aquarone Excerpts

Wednesday 28th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Olney (Richmond Park) (LD)]

Youth unemployment has risen since Labour took power. The rate is now above 15%, which means that more than one in seven 18 to 24-year-olds are not in employment. That is a really troubling statistic, but it has its roots in the Conservatives’ dismal economic record. The economic challenges we face did not develop overnight. The previous Government’s economic chaos and mismanagement damaged jobs and young people’s employment prospects. The Conservative party failed to invest in skills and workforce planning, which is contributing to the shortage of quality entry-level jobs available to people leaving college or university.

[Steff Aquarone (North Norfolk) (LD)]

I have carefully read the Opposition motion on this hugely important issue, and I am rather concerned that transport is not mentioned once. Transport is a massive barrier to employment and training for young people in North Norfolk, but the Conservatives do not seem to realise that it is an issue. Does my hon. Friend agree with me that poor rural public transport is trapping young people in my area in unemployment, and that the Conservatives should apologise to those young people for the state that they have left us in?

[Sarah Olney]

My hon. Friend is right. Young people face so many barriers to accessing both education and employment, and that is very much a legacy of the last Conservative Government and their mismanagement.

Young people are increasingly concerned about the fact that the links between education and employment have become weaker and weaker.