Prime Minister David Cameron. Photograph by Moritz Hager/World Economic Forum
David Cameron’s keynote speech at the Conservative Party Conference may have been under the banner of a “land of opportunity for all”, but young people may be feeling rather left out of that world as Cameron announced that housing benefit and jobseekers allowance would be denied to the under 25s.
Tory aides insist that this move will better prepare young people for the “global race”, and address the issue of around one million young people not in training, education, employment or training, knowns as “neets”, but by only denying these benefits to young people, there have been wide calls of ageism.
In his speech, Cameron claimed that the economy was “turning the corner”, but with young people still disproportionately affected by the recession, some have accused the Tory party of stripping welfare from some of the most in need. It may be cynical to see the Tories as attacking a group that historically offers them little support, but otherwise it is difficult to see how young people are supposed to begin their road into the job market without being offered the same safety net as their elders.