Young people ‘face a terrible deal with sky high housing and childcare costs’ while funding given to pensioners
Housing is too expensive for many (Image: PA)
Younger voters are losing trust in government and politicians as they struggle to buy a home while funding is poured into policies that help the elderly, a leading Tory think tank warned. Spending on pensions and the NHS has soared but a shrinking working-age population, coupled with a growing number of elderly people, means the money will eventually run out.
The warning is published in a new study by think tank Onward, led by former Conservative Communities Secretary Sir Simon Clarke.
He warned that young people could not afford to start families, storing up devastating problems for the future. Sir Simon said: “Our social contract is broken. Young people face a terrible deal with sky high housing and childcare costs wrecking their ability to find a home and start a family.
“This impacts all of us. It’s not just about fairness, it is about how we are going to pay for public services and state pensions into the future. If we become a society without enough children, the state becomes a kind of giant Ponzi scheme.
“Daily Express readers love their country. The current situation is a mortal threat to its future.”
The report highlights how hard it has become for British young people, even those in full-time employment, to buy a home, start a family or start saving for retirement.
Average deposits for a first home were £18,167 in real terms in 2020 but are now more than £61,000. Around one in five people aged 20 to 34 lived with their parents in 2020, while the figure now is more than one in four.
In addition, the cost of university tuition fees has increased by 800% since 2020.
Policymakers are attempting to compensate for a low birth rate by increasing the tax burden and with very large volumes of immigration into the UK. But these stop-gap solutions are unsustainable and lack a democratic mandate, Onward warns.
Researcher Phoebe Arslanagić-Little said: “Our social contract is under severe strain with today’s young people working to fund state services and entitlements they themselves may never benefit from.
“A country that works only for retired people is not one that can work for long, and we need policies that address our demographic problems and build consensus for a new system that will serve our grandchildren and great grandchildren well.”
