Rachel Reeves ‘killing opportunities’ for a million young people | Politics | News

Rachel Reeves has been accused of “killing opportunities for the next generation” as new figures show nearly a million young people wake up every morning in Britain with nothing to do and nowhere to go. The number of young people aged 16 to 24 not in education, employment or training, known as NEET, has increased to 957,459 young people since the last election in December 2025.

This is up from 921,198 in the three months to June 2024 before the election and has increased by over 11,000 since September last year. This means one in eight people aged 16 to 24 are NEET. The Conservatives accused Labor of presiding over record levels of youth unemployment, the lowest ever levels of graduate recruitment and a conveyor belt of young people moving straight from education to welfare – with 700,000 graduates currently on benefits.

Helen Whately, Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said: “Young people are doing everything we ask of them, working hard, borrowing money, trying to build a future, but almost a million young people are completely trapped.

“The government is destroying opportunities for the next generation, but the Conservatives have seen what’s happening and they have a plan. Our New Deal for Young People, Plan 2, will scrap real interest rates on student loans, end low-value ‘debt trap’ degrees, introduce double apprenticeships and give young people a £5,000 tax break – our First Job Bonus – to help them save for a first home.”

Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Trade Andrew Griffith said: “The Workers’ Employment Tax, economic uncertainty and bureaucratic Employment Rights Bill are hindering hiring and creating a generation of unemployed people. “Rather than tackle the unemployment crisis that is draining the economy, Starmer is choosing to avoid a fight with his own supporters.

“Labour will not take the tough decisions needed to reward and support work, forcing more people into unemployment and disrupting the wider economy.”

The Conservatives have drawn up a plan they call a New Deal for Young People, which includes scrapping above-inflation interest rates on Plan 2 student loans to reduce the amount many graduates will have to pay; Helping 100,000 more young people enter apprenticeships each year by removing the funding cap for 18 to 21-year-olds, and a “first Job Bonus” where the first £5,000 of National Insurance paid by any British citizen in their first full-time job will be transferred to a personal savings account for a house deposit or future savings.

Make us a Preferred Source so our latest policy headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search. Click here to activate or add us as a Preferred Source in your Google search settings.

David Freeman, Joint Head of the Labor Market Division at the Office for National Statistics, said: “The last quarter of 2025 saw a slight increase in the number of young people not in employment, education and training compared to the previous quarter.

“This has been driven by rising unemployment as more young people are actively looking for work.”

Last year Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the “youth guarantee”, pledging to offer a guaranteed paid job to every eligible young person who is out of job training for 18 months.

Sam Atwell, Director of Healthy Lives Policy and Research at the Health Foundation, said: “The continued rise of young people not in education, employment or training should be a wake-up call. Not working or learning can have profound consequences on young people’s current and future health, earnings and life opportunities.

“Poor health is increasingly becoming a factor behind young people not being in work or education. This creates a cycle that is difficult to break: Poor health makes it difficult to participate, and prolonged periods of not earning or learning can worsen mental and physical health over time.”