Rory Weal (16) talks about the government cuts and their effect on young people – do you agree with him?

Rory Weal speech to Labour conference

16 year-old Rory Weal wowed the Labour Party conference in Liverpool with an impassioned speech about his life, home and the welfare state. Many have drawn comparisons to William Hague’s debut at the Tory conference back in 1977, particularly in relation to the possibility of a prolific future in politics for Weal, just as Hague went on to have. Rory Weal now lives with his mother and little sister in Maidstone after his parent’s house was repossessed in 2008, causing them to divorce. His family have never been political, with Rory only joining the Labour party after the last general election. Here is what Rory had to say about the future of young people in the UK…

Rory Weal’s speech

“It appears that this government has taken a bit of a dislike to young people: Future Jobs Fund cut, EMA scrapped and tuition fees trebled – it’s fair to say that this Tory led government is giving young people a pretty raw deal.”

“I ask David Cameron: what does he advise when I can’t afford to go to school in the morning, can’t buy the materials and text book that I need for school or when I can’t afford to go on a school trip? His government is repeatedly showing that they are out of touch with the people of the UK.”

“(the measures for young people) will divide a generation and seriously threaten the British promise that Ed Miliband has spoken about where one generation does better than the last. I ask David Cameron to reconsider these measures.”

The Cuts

The Future Jobs Fund: This fund aimed to create jobs for 18-24 year olds who have been unemployed and seeking jobseekers allowance for 6 months or more. By the end of March 2011, around 100,000 jobs for young people were created by the Future Jobs Fund.

Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA): The EMA provided low-income families a weekly payment to support the costs of continuing in education after the age of 16.

University tuition fee increase (2012): The coalition government has found that the deficit cuts will have to fall onto universities across England and Wales. The result of this is that universities will have to find income through other avenues in order to stay ranked amongst the highest in the world and to maintain high standards. Tuition fees for students will rise to a maximum of £9,000 per year as of 2012 in order to fill the gap in funding created by the government cuts.

The deficit

The UK’s national debt currently stands at about £900 billion – money which is owed to investors at home and abroad. This year’s interest bill on these debts is £43 billion. The debt as a percentage of Britain’s annual income – its GDP – is 61%. This means that the debt as a percentage of GDP has risen by 31% since 2001 (Office of National Statistics).

Do you agree that this government has taken a dislike to young people in the form of the cuts mentioned above? If so why?

Have the government’s cuts affected your decisions about the future, for example whether or not to go to university?

Do you disagree with Rory’s speech? If so why?

Does the national debt worry you?