Meet Nick. He's 30 and does everything right: works hard, pays taxes, follows the rules. He’s also given up hope of ever building the life his parents had.
Today's @spectator tells his story. Our 2023 Justice for the Young report shows how Britain is failing his generation 🧵
Centre for Policy Studies
28.5K posts
Centre for Policy Studies
@CPSThinkTank
Leading British think tank, promoting enterprise, ownership & opportunity. Sign up to our newsletter 🔗 cps.org.uk/signup/
Replying to @CPSThinkTankEngland's housing deficit grew by 1.70 million homes from 2013 - March 2024. Net migration accounts for 1.59 million of that increase, 94% of the total.
- Migration has fallen — but to 431,000. That figure would have shattered records in any year before 2021. What looks like progress remains historically unprecedented, and it's devastating Britain's already strained housing market. 🧵
- "Where there is discord may we bring harmony. Where there is error, may we bring truth. Where there is doubt, may we bring faith. And where there is despair, may we bring hope" - Tomorrow marks 40 years since our founder Margaret Thatcher walked into @10DowningStreet as PM
- ⏪ @PennyMordaunt spoke about the importance of 'instilling trust' and 'fostering faith' in democracy and capitalism at #MTC23
00:00 - ⚡️ New CPS analysis raises severe questions over Ed Miliband's energy plans His pledge to save households £300 on their energy bills and the conclusions of the recent NESO report rest on a set of highly dubious assumptions Read more 👇 cps.org.uk/research/the-g…
- Clarification on Indefinite Leave to Remain statistics: As part of announcing a package of policies on Indefinite Leave to Remain, Reform UK have alluded to research published by the Centre for Policy Studies in February of this year. Part of the research calculated a ballpark
- On top of this, Nick faces impossible competition for housing. England built 908,000 new homes in four years to March 2024. Net migration alone created demand for 925,000 homes. Nick didn't vote for this policy, but he pays the price in soaring rents and house prices.
- Nick pays into a welfare system designed for a different era. In 1972, each pensioner was supported by 4.5 workers. By 2022, it was 3.3 workers per pensioner. By 2072, just 1.9 workers will support each pensioner. Nick will be carrying twice the load his parents did.
- Replying to @CPSThinkTankNick's trapped in a cruel paradox. He pays over half his take-home pay to live in a cramped HMO, more than most mortgage payments. But banks won't lend to him. Post 2008 rules meant to prevent crashes now prevent homebuying. His landlord bought with credit Nick can never access
- We’ve measured the Online Safety Act paperwork, and it’s currently 2,085 pages. Laid end to end, it would be 438 metres high. That’s the height of the Empire State Building. It’s regulation at skyline scale, which every online service is expected to follow to the letter.
- Replying to @CPSThinkTankPublic spending on over-65s will rise from around 10.1% of GDP today to 21.3% by 2072. That's a £285bn annual increase in today's money. Nick's generation will fund the most expensive elderly care system in history, for people richer than them.
- And Nick's voice gets drowned out every election. Turnout among voters under 35 tends to be around 40-50%, versus 70-80% for those aged 55 and older. Democracy becomes gerontocracy when the young don't vote.
- 🗣️ KEYNOTE SPEAKER @KemiBadenoch will deliver the closing keynote speech at Monday's Margaret Thatcher Conference 2025 on Remaking Conservatism
