Liz Kendall gave a speech this morning in which she promised to ‘build a better future’ for young people, with better mental health support and careers advice in schools. Sounds pretty motherhood-and-apple-pie from the shadow work and pensions secretary, but what’s getting more attention is that she also said there would be ‘no option of a life on benefits’ for people who can work.

This is interesting for two reasons. One is that the Labour party has really struggled over the past decade with conditionality in the benefits system, and more widely with the idea that it should tell people they should be in work. But that is exactly what Kendall said today. She told a Demos event:

This is our commitment to young people. We value you. You are important. We will invest in you and help you build a better future, with all the chances and choices this brings. But in return for these new opportunities, you will have a responsibility to take up the work or training that’s on offer. Under our changed Labour party, if you can work there should be no option of a life on benefits. Not just because the British people believe rights should go hand in hand with responsibilities. But because being unemployed or lacking basic qualifications when you’re young can harm your job prospects and wages for the rest of your life.

Kendall is drawing on recent work from the Resolution Foundation which pointed to young people being more likely to be out of work due to ill-health than those in their early 40s. This study found that one in three people reported symptoms suggesting they have a common mental health disorder like depression, anxiety or bipolar, and that between 2018 and 2022, one in five 18-24 year olds with mental health problems were workless.

QOSHE - Labour will find it hard to get tough on benefits seekers - Isabel Hardman
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Labour will find it hard to get tough on benefits seekers

3 1
04.03.2024

Liz Kendall gave a speech this morning in which she promised to ‘build a better future’ for young people, with better mental health support and careers advice in schools. Sounds pretty motherhood-and-apple-pie from the shadow work and pensions secretary, but what’s getting more attention is that she also said there would be ‘no option of a life on benefits’ for people who can work.

This is interesting for two reasons. One is........

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