A Labor minister has delivered a stunningly candid assessment of the lives of young people in Britain, declaring that for many “life sucks”.
Josh Simons, the parliamentary secretary to the Cabinet Office and co-founder of the Labor Growth Group, made the candid comment on X in response to new analysis that highlighted the rising costs of housing and raising families.
Responding to a Times report showing that raising a child for 18 years now costs almost £250,000, Simons said well-educated adults aged between 20 and 40 found it “IMPOSSIBLE” to save for a house and afford children.
“Young people who want a family while struggling with these cost pressures have plenty of time,” he wrote, adding that the UK’s falling birth rate is a “HUGE problem” that deserves more political attention. Simons said he could personally vouch for the financial burden as both an MP and a graduate student – and emphasized that even high-earning professionals face problems.
According to MoneyFarm, parents now spend around £65,016 on teenagers aged 15 to 18 alone. Meanwhile, the UK’s fertility rate fell to a record low of 1.41 children per woman in 2024, with the biggest decline among women aged 25 to 29, the exact group Simons was referring to.
But the picture could be getting worse. Decisions by Simons’ government colleague, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, mean that young professionals will face a significantly higher tax burden over the next five years.
Daily Sparkz’ analysis found that a college graduate earning 50% above the average wage who turns 30 in 2020 will pay half as much in taxes and student loan repayments as someone with the same income who turns 30 in 2030.
The growing gap is largely due to Reeves’ decision to freeze income tax thresholds until 2031, a move that will drag millions into higher tax brackets through fiscal strain.
Separate data from The Economist found that so-called AVOCADOs – Aggrieved Victims Of Crushing Academic Debt Obligations – now face punitive marginal tax rates. A 30-year-old with a master’s degree and an income of £30,000 will face a marginal interest rate of 43%, taking loan repayments into account, while someone over 66 with the same salary will pay just 20%.
At the same time, labor market conditions for young adults are deteriorating. Graduate hiring is slowing faster than the overall economy, according to new data from Indeed and other recruiting platforms.
Economists have pointed to Labour’s rise in the national living wage and a £25bn increase in employers’ national insurance contributions – dubbed a “stealth employment tax” by critics – as key factors behind hiring freezes and reduced entry opportunities.
With house prices still growing faster than wages, childcare costs among the highest in the OECD and taxes on working-age workers rising sharply, Simons’ shocking diagnosis could resonate more widely than Labor would like.
