John Oxley

Britain’s young are giving up hope

The Conservative party faces a new challenge in the battle to win back younger voters – how to sell the party of aspiration to a generation that has soured on ambition. Articles abound on the under forties drifting towards professional apathy, from quiet quitting to abandoning the rat race entirely. Now polling has indicated a spread of this disillusionment from the working world.

It’s not that younger generations are particularly workshy or lazy, but more that they feel the prizes promised for a lifetime of graft have become a phantom. A new survey from Opinium shows that only a third of young people will achieve their career aspirations, and only a quarter think they will earn more than £30,000 (roughly the current median wage) at the end of the next decade. This creeping sense of hopelessness is bound to have political consequences.

The Conservative party now faces an almost existential problem when it comes to the young

Wages have stagnated in real terms since the financial crisis.

Comments

Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.

Already a subscriber? Log in