DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Milburn's warning of a 'lost' generation

Published: 22:47, 27 May 2026 | Updated: 22:50, 27 May 2026 On Tuesday, Tony Blair gave Sir Keir Starmer and his Cabinet of political makeweights a withering rebuke over their growth-crushing agenda and refusal to cut the spiralling welfare bill. They had no coherent plan for the country, he said, retreating instead into a failed Left-wing 'comfort zone' of high taxes, regulation and gesture politics. Today it was the turn of another New Labour big beast, Alan Milburn, to tell his party some hard truths – this time about its failure to address the massive surge in youth unemployment. Without urgent action, he said his party is at risk of presiding over a 'lost generation', for whom worklessness is not a temporary blip but a way of life. More than 950,000 young people aged between 16 and 24 – roughly one in eight – are currently not in education, employment or training (NEETs). That is an increase of 200,000 since 2021 and costs the country some £21billion a year in lost GDP. Worse still, more than half are not even required to seek work, often citing mental health issues. And with AI taking out great swathes of entry level positions and mass migration intensifying competition, the total number of NEETs could reach 1.25million by 2031. Alan Milburn – a former health secretary and New Labour big beast – warned his party that unless they take urgent action, joblessness will become a way of life for young people Mr Milburn, a former health secretary and chairman of the Social Mobility Commission, said this situation was 'shameful', calling it a failure of schools, the health service and skills training. He recognises the growth in mental health problems but believes that should not excuse young people from seeking employment. 'Work gives purpose. Work gives meaning,' he said. 'Labour is the party of work.' That may once have been true, but no longer. Today, it is the party of Benefits Street and the public sector unions. Even the mildest attempt to cut welfare spending is vetoed by Labour's bleeding-heart backbenchers who equate reducing benefits with being cruel to the poor. They are wrong. The real cruelty is in allowing the young to see life on benefits as a viable option. Worklessness dulls the soul and suffocates ambition. Furthermore, the welfare system is rapidly becoming unaffordable, as those who work struggle to pay for those who don't. However, the collapse in work ethic is not entirely – or even primarily – the fault of the young. Many were sold the idea that a university degree would be the passport to a well-paid job and while that has worked for some, far too many have found it was a false prospectus. They have been left with crippling student debts and little hope of attaining the career of their dreams. No wonder they feel deceived. As Blair and Milburn point out, the first thing Labour must do to help them is make it easier for firms to take on new staff. That means scrapping both the pernicious rise in employers' National Insurance payments and Angela Rayner's misguided workers' rights legislation. Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden this week announced a huge expansion in youth work experience places. But what use is that if other misguided policies mean the vast majority will have no jobs to take up? Secondly, the welfare system needs to be overhauled to make work virtuous again and state-funded indolence a last resort. Labour must abandon its anti-business prejudices and wake up to this unfolding tragedy before it's too late. The hopes of a fretful and disillusioned generation depend on it. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.