Mark Yale: Labour is offering us an opportunity with young voters

Labour’s success last year was built on a large number of young voters backing them, but since coming into power they have neglected them – presenting us with an opportunity.

The government’s first budget lowered the stamp duty threshold for first time buyers and raised taxes on businesses, which as the OBR has pointed out, will lead to slower wage growth. As a result, young adults buying for the first-time will find it more expensive whilst also having less disposable income to save for the future or start a family with.

They have talked big on housing and set a target of 300,000 new houses a year, but in the first six months of being in government the number of new builds dropped compared to the same six-month period in 2023.

Although they are reforming the planning system, Labour’s plan to tackle the skills shortage that many building industries are experiencing has been described as lacking ambition. It will not only hold back the construction of their promised new homes and economic growth, but also impact on career opportunities for young adults.

Their educational reforms pander to their union friends instead of focusing on continuing the progress made under the Conservatives, meaning students are at risk of being left worse off and educational standards lower.

There is now even speculation Bridget Phillipson (despite promising extra investment using the revenue from taxing private school fees) has offered up spending cuts from the Department of Education.

When you put all that together, the outlook for young people and young adults under Labour is far from the sunny uplands of economic growth, jobs and housing which they promised in their manifesto.

So here lies our opportunity.

We need to get on the front foot and be highlighting all of this to young voters and developing a credible alternative. By the next election, one in six of our voters might have passed away and current polling shows little evidence young people are replacing them.

Boldness is needed in our policy to cut through to a group that has largely stopped listening to us. Alongside being bold, our plans need to be credible and deliverable so we can demonstrate to young people that we are taking them seriously and get them to consider voting Conservative.

I think there are three areas we should focus on: housing, skills and transport. With the right policies we can ensure young adults can access well-paid jobs and can put down roots to live in a part of the country they want to instead of just where they can afford to.

How do we go about this?

Like Labour has, we need to acknowledge the current planning system no longer works and shift policy towards reforming supply side, instead of propping up demand with schemes that have helped ratchet up prices.

This does not mean bulldozing over greenbelt land, but allowing density where the demand is and supporting developments near current or future economic hubs e.g. Cambridge Arc.

Alongside housing, we must develop a higher education policy that addresses the crisis and shortage in skills that businesses are reporting. This is not only crucial for supporting young people into good employment, but is an essential part of addressing the UK’s productivity problem and anaemic levels of growth.

A third of recent graduates from university are not in high-skilled employment, indicating some courses are not setting students up with the skills employers are looking for. There is an alternative which allows them to learn, develop skills, earn a wage and not be lumbered by debt.

Apprenticeships have always been a fantastic route into many skilled and well-paid jobs, but since the mid 2010s the number of apprentices has fallen. UCAS highlighted in a report that this is not because of a lack of demand but because of a lack of apprenticeships being offered. We need to work with business and ensure there is enough funding in place to reverse this trend.

Irrespective of whether someone went to university or completed an apprenticeship, we need economic growth and business investment to ensure there are good quality jobs out there for young adults. We need to look at how we can stimulate this.

A lever that could be pulled relatively easily – and have a quick effect in attracting investment – would be to scrap stamp duty on the purchasing of shares as this disincentivises investment in the UK and UK businesses.

As we allow business to invest and play its part, we also need to have an infrastructure policy that makes it easier for young people to access jobs across the whole country. In particular this means focusing investment on public transport so that young adults can easily travel and commute for educational and employment opportunities.

In my opinion these issues of housing, education/skills and infrastructure should be at the centre of our offering to young adults. Let’s seize this opportunity that Labour is giving us, engage with young people and show them the benefits of a Conservative led government.