Labour promises young people a 'new bargain' - Children & Young People Now
Labour promises young people a 'new bargain'
By Neil Puffett Tuesday, 04 October 2011
Labour leader Ed Miliband promised a "new bargain" for the people of Britain at its annual conference in Liverpool, pledging to stand up for the decent, hard-working majority.
Miliband: 'Young people see routes to success today based on a wrong set of values.' Image: Rex
In reality, the conference was distinctly light on policy - perhaps unsurprising given that a general election remains four years away and the party is barely half-way through a two-year policy review.
But Miliband was keen to stress that his vision for the country will involve greater opportunities for young people. He indicated that he would target the influences of celebrity culture and gangs, warning that they give a false impression of the routes to success in life.
And he reiterated his commitment to capping university tuition fees at 6,000 a year rather than the current 9,000, stating that the brightest children should not be priced out of higher education.
"To the young people who want to get on and contribute to our country, my message is simple," he said. "I won't let you be priced out of your future. Labour is on your side."
Future opportunities
Several fringe meetings debated the future of opportunities and support for young people, including the "disproportionate" cuts on the sector. "Young people have borne the brunt of cuts," said Iain Wright, former apprenticeships minister and a member of the shadow education team. "You can lay the blame of the financial crisis in many places, but you can't lay it on young people."
At another fringe event, shadow children's minister Toby Perkins revealed that the party will examine what local authorities should have to offer in terms of youth services as part of the "new bargain" outlined by Miliband.
"One of the things the policy review will look at is how do we represent the new bargain in terms of expectations (for youth services) on local authorities," he said.
However, with shadow chancellor Ed Balls attempting to convince voters of the party's fiscal competence by warning that there would be little money to spend in government, alternative funding models will have to be explored.
Graham Allen, the Labour MP for Nottingham, conducted a review on early intervention for the government. He said that for early intervention in particular, payment-by-results is the only way money can be raised, calling on his party to support the idea.
Meanwhile, youth leaders accepted that the coalition's forthcoming youth policy, due to be unveiled this autumn, will carry no funding.
"We have to provide positive leadership and also look at creative ideas," said Kanchan Jadeja, chair of the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services. "We are not going to get the funding we used to have."
Further cuts
Further cuts to local authority budgets are due to be made in the next three years and concern lingers over the potential impact of the current Eurozone crisis.
Shadow education minister Sharon Hodgson sounded a note of warning at a Unicef fringe event on children's rights, saying the coalition government appears more concerned with cuts than prospects for children. "Many of the policies we have seen so far from the coalition clearly demonstrate that the lives and futures of our children lie well behind the desire to reduce the deficit as fast as possible," she said.
On the education system, shadow education secretary Andy Burnham, reiterated his desire to reinvigorate comprehensive schools.
On a practical level, this includes formative ideas to reduce the number of young people not in education, employment and training (Neet), which rose to a record high last month, by offering greater support to children not bound for university.
"Young people who want to head towards work or an apprenticeship are left to fend for themselves," he said. "At 13, 14, 15, too many children lose their way because they can't see where school is taking them. That's wrong and I want to put it right."
Full coverage of the Labour conference is at www.cypnow.co.uk/go/labourconf2011
LABOUR SOUNDBITES
- "If Ed Miliband becomes Prime Minister tomorrow, there will not be a great slab of public money to fund early intervention ... payment-by-results is the only game in town" - Graham Allen MP, government adviser on early intervention
- "We need a stronger, clearer narrative for young people and can't wait for the government to give us it" - Tony Hawkhead, chief executive, Groundwork UK
- "I think we will continue to see trouble because we have so many young people with nothing now" - Julie Hilling, MP for Bolton West and a former youth worker.
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