New British graduates, burdened by very heavy university loans, have no opportunities. Thus, a wave of discontent washed over Starmer at the polls. And the right flies…
Tom he is 24 years old, he finished his university course in Politics and Business in the three years foreseen, with a rather high score. It took him another three years to find stable work and he still lives in London with their parents because if they had to pay rent or a mortgage they would not be able to support themselves. Sophia has worked in the film production industry for years; the salary is good, but the hours are exhausting, each assignment is entrusted with a fixed-term project and you must be ready to change work location with great flexibility. Guys like her live a bit like gypsies, ten days a Brightona few months in London, a year commuting in Surrey.
It is no longer a country for young people United Kingdom. And London leads the ranking of places with the highest unemployment rate. In the capital which still represents one of the most dreamed of destinations by Italian young people, the rate of unemployed young people reached 24.6% with 135 thousand people between 16 and 24 years old out of the world of work, between November 2025 and January 2026. A record that had never been reached in the last 5 years and which does not seem to be heading towards a trend reversal.
The crisis of the capital which is no longer a country for young people
In the country, the average is a little lower, 16%, but the latest statistical data reveal that between October and December 2025, 957 thousand individuals between the ages of 16 and 24 were unemployed, were not studying, nor were they looking for work. Since the last investigation carried out on the problem by BBC a worrying picture emerges. The interviewees talk about experiences that perhaps their Italian peers have been accustomed to for some time, but certainly not the English. Never before has it been so difficult to find a job, even in sectors that have always been looking for staff such as hospitality and catering. One student said he asked more than a hundred questions before finally finding a place in a pub.
“There is nothing for us out there,” explains a student in her final year atImperial College of Londonone of the most prestigious universities in the Kingdom, «I have asked hundreds of questions since last September and many have not even answered me. I’m exasperated and it’s a feeling shared by almost all of my university classmates.” “They say about us that we are lazy, that we don’t want to make commitments, but we’re trying,” he vents Adele Blossomwho studies at Capital City College«and I believe that many have the wrong idea of our generation. Personally I feel like I’m constantly doomed to everyone that I’m working hard. Of course there are unmotivated people, but generalizing is unfair.” The Labor Government of Keir Starmer he has always promised to implement support policies to reduce unemployment, with a particular focus on the younger generations. Even recently Pat McFaddenSecretary of State for Work and Pensions, has confirmed that the Executive is developing a new support package to reduce youth unemployment. “This is a long-term problem,” he explains, “and therefore requires long-term solutions.” The package will include a £3,000 bonus for companies that hire an unemployed young person and a £2,000 incentive for small businesses that hire an apprentice.
In London the mayor Sadiq Khan assures that «supporting young Londoners to find well-paid jobs remains one of our administration’s priorities» and recalls the launch, which took place last October, of the program Inclusive Talent Strategywhich includes investments of more than $147 million to implement a plan for the workforce to be employed in the capital.
Between unsustainable rents and promises betrayed by the government
All good initiatives but they are not enough to solve the serious problems of a city where a twenty-year-old is crushed by very high rents and cost of living which leaves no escape. A simple room costs on average a thousand pounds a month and even now that the new rent law is about to be passed, which will prevent landlords from evicting their tenants without just cause and will lengthen the notice period, there are fears that renters will be tempted to increase rather than decrease the rent.
British 25-year-olds are feeling increasingly betrayed and this feeling is one of the reasons why the Labour to defeat in the last local elections, overtaken on the right by the populists of Farage and on the left by the ecologists of Polansky.
To be able to stay in the saddle, Starmer promised «a new course for the country within theEuropean Union» and «new job opportunities for young people», but these are words that have already been heard and will not be convincing until they find concrete application.
The dead end of the green revolution and student loans
In the meantime, graduates who have just left university already find themselves with a very heavy burden on their shoulders university debtjust think that the interest rates – now slightly lower, but still very high – applied to honor loans would be considered illegal for a bank. And the government’s intention to apply, starting next September, a maximum ceiling of 6% to student loans, practically double the previous one, is causing a hornet’s nest of controversy. But this is only one of the many reasons for the dissatisfaction of many young people disappointed by the broken promises made by the government. Like that “green revolution”, strongly supported by Starmer’s ministers which is proving to be a pure chimera. Last year Ed MillibandMinister for Energy Security, has promised to train a new workforce to be included in an additional 400 thousand green jobs by 2030. Highly specialized jobs located in coastal areas and among post-industrial communities, with higher than average wages. Many children who live in the poorest areas of England, such as the Suffolkthey believed in this promise. They chose courses of study or training paths that provided knowledge that could then be used in the green industry, only to end up with a handful of flies.
“The government has let people imagine that there are a whole range of high-profile roles,” he explains Rachel Wildesocial anthropologist at University College London«but all these opportunities are actually already exhausted. A certain type of job is advertised, but most of the jobs are other.” Because the green industry today above all needs low-level workers, such as doormen, security guards, jobs for which degrees are not required. Now the Department of Energy he adjusted the aim, promising that other opportunities will arrive and that the average annual salary will reach 50 thousand pounds per year. The new generations can only hope.
