Burnham: NEETs are an 'economic catastrophe and a moral failure'

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has declared that the almost one million 16 to 24-year-olds in the UK who are not in education, employment or training (NEETs) amount to “an economic catastrophe and a moral failure”, in a Times opinion piece published on Monday.

Burnham told readers that Britain must “invest in the success of our young people” rather than “pay for failure through the benefits system”. Under his promised welfare overhaul, “benefits will become the backstop, not the starting point”, with support “beginning with their ambitions and the help they need to achieve them” rather than with a benefits assessment. (https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/andy-burnham-oped-welfare-benefits-sn5pr9m0k)

The prime minister blamed Covid lockdowns, social media eroding young people’s “confidence and sense of belonging”, an education system focused on the “university route”, too few job opportunities, and the failures of previous governments. (https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/uk-faces-economic-catastrophe-moral-failure-over-youth-unemployment-premier/4093443)

According to the Office for National Statistics, nearly one million 16 to 24-year-olds are classed as NEETs. Alan Milburn’s review of young people and work is due to be published next month, and the government is expected to announce thousands of new youth job opportunities this week. (https://www.thehonanews.com/2026/10/19/burnham-warns-of-neets-fuelled-economic-catastrophe-and-moral-failure/)

The Conservatives have called the youth employment strategy “a disaster”. Shadow Business and Trade Secretary Julia Lopez said “Labour have been a disaster for youth jobs”, blaming tax hikes and red tape. Chancellor John Healey, whose first Budget is due on 28 October, has reiterated that the government has a “moral duty” to act on welfare spending. (https://thecsrjournal.in/prime-minister-andy-burnham-calls-for-urgent-investment-in-youth-employment-as-nearly-one-million-young-people-remain-neet-in-the-uk)