A Labour minister has delivered a startlingly candid assessment of life for young people in Britain, declaring that for many, “life is s**t”.
Josh Simons, the parliamentary secretary for the Cabinet Office and co-founder of the Labour Growth Group, made the frank remark on X in response to new analysis highlighting the soaring costs of housing and raising a family.
Reacting to a report from The Times showing that bringing up a child now costs almost £250,000 over 18 years, Simons said well-educated adults aged between 20 and 40 found it “IMPOSSIBLE” to save for a home and afford to have children.
“Young people wanting a family while dealing with this cost pressure are having a s**t time,” he wrote, adding that the UK’s falling birth rate was a “BIG problem” that deserved more political attention. Simons said he “could vouch” for the financial strain personally as both an MP and a PhD holder — highlighting that even high-earning professionals were struggling.
According to MoneyFarm, parents now spend around £65,016 on teenagers alone between ages 15 and 18. Meanwhile, the UK fertility rate fell to a record low of 1.41 children per woman in 2024, with the steepest declines among women aged 25 to 29, the very group Simons referenced.
But the picture may worsen. Decisions taken by Simons’ government colleague, chancellor Rachel Reeves, mean young professionals will face a significantly heavier tax burden over the next five years.
Business Matters analysis found that a graduate earning 50% above the median wage who turned 30 in 2020 will pay half as much in tax and student loan repayments as someone earning at the same level who turns 30 in 2030.
The widening gap is driven largely by Reeves’ decision to freeze income tax thresholds until 2031, a move that will drag millions into higher tax bands through fiscal drag.
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 earning £30,000 can face a 43% marginal rate once loan repayments are factored in, while someone over 66 earning the same salary pays just 20%.
At the same time, labour market conditions for young adults are deteriorating. Graduate hiring is weakening faster than the wider economy, according to new data from Indeed and other recruitment platforms.
Economists have pointed to Labour’s rise in the national living wage and a £25bn increase in employers’ national insurance contributions — described by critics as a “stealth employment tax” — as key factors contributing to hiring freezes and reduced entry-level opportunities.
With house prices still outpacing wage growth, childcare costs among the highest in the OECD, and taxes rising sharply for working-age earners, Simons’ blistering diagnosis may resonate more widely than Labour might wish.