Councillors have clashed over who is to blame for rising youth unemployment in the UK.

Reform UK members on Stoke-on-Trent City Council proposed a motion saying the authority 'condemns the Labour government for overseeing UK youth unemployment hit 16.1 per cent'.

They said employers in Stoke-on-Trent are finding it hard to take on young people due to government measures such as the increase in National Insurance contributions.

But Labour councillors hit back, blaming previous Conservative administrations, both locally and nationally, for cuts that impacted on young people's life chances.

Following the full council debate, elected members approved a version of the motion amended by the Labour group, which deleted the criticism of the government and said Labour has a plan for reducing youth unemployment.

But Reform councillors claimed the Labour amendment was a 'fairy tale' that did not reflect reality.

Reform councillor Carl Edwards believes the government should reverse policies such as the NICs increase.

Cllr Edwards said: "Before I entered this hallowed place I ran a business for 28 years, and I understand the value of young people in the workplace. Not only is it of value to the young people themselves, to see them grow into their roles was an absolute joy.

advertisement

"It's a shame that the current national administration has put barriers in employers' way, putting additional costs on employing young people. Speaking to business owners they tell me of the difficulties they have. They would love to take on young people."

Labour councillors said the original Reform motion falsely claimed that the UK had the highest youth unemployment in Europe – while the UK's rate is now above the European average, it is not the highest rate overall.

Councillor Sarah Jane Colclough, cabinet member for children's services, proposed an amendment that noted this inaccuracy and criticised the previous Conservative administration for cutting support services for school leavers.

According to the amendment, the percentage of 16 to 18-year-olds in Stoke-on-Trent not in education, employment or training (NEET) or with 'unknown' status rose to 48.2 per cent in 2023. This year the city's NEET rate has fallen to 5.3 per cent, which is lower than the national average.

Cllr Colclough said: "We've had lots of engagement with businesses in the city, and what they're telling us is that young people don't have the skills. That's one of the issues behind the high unemployment rate.

"This hasn't happened overnight. Over eight years the previous Tory administration didn't do much about it. All those cuts in previous years helped to grow youth unemployment.

"The Conservative government threw billions at short-term employment schemes that had no real impact. We are changing that. We are engaging with employers to find out what they need.

"We are reinstating the careers service. It's not just about a job at 18. It's about the support at 12, 13, 14, getting in there before things go wrong."

advertisement

Councillor Finlay Gordon-McCusker, cabinet member for regeneration, claimed that the inaccuracy in the original motion showed that Reform had 'no plan, no credibility' on the issue.

Potteries Party councillor David Mountford said youth unemployment should not be reduced to a 'political football'.

He said: "In Stoke-on-Trent is isn't about league tables, it's about young people leaving school or college and not seeing a future here. If we're serious about tackling this we should be focusing on what we control locally, linking skills to real jobs, backing apprenticeships and making sure investment in the city actually creates opportunities for our young people."

Reform UK group leader Dan Jellyman said the rise in unemployment under Labour had been an 'absolute scandal'.

He said: "You only have to read the local paper and not a week goes by when a ceramics company goes bump because of the sky high energy costs from nutty Ed Miliband."

Cllr Jellyman also pointed out that Labour city councillors had previously avoided criticising the government over winter fuel payments only for the Labour government to U-turn on the issue.