Why the young find politics too taxing

Why the young find politics too taxing

The promise of lower taxes could help to attract young people back to politics, according to a rightwing thinktank.

Rising debts and house prices, and falling economic incentives to enter higher education, mean that under-35s are economically worse off than their parents were at the same age, claims a report from Reform.

The report calls them the IPOD generation - insecure, pressurised, over-taxed and debt-ridden - and calls for tax cuts to give them a fairer deal.

"In recent years, the trend has been for political parties to direct their policies to those who are most likely to vote: older people," said Andrew Haldenby, director of Reform, citing the Tories' general election pledge to cut council tax for pensioners.

"Young people are disillusioned with politics because politicians don't talk to them about the things that affect them. If [parties] said, 'We can understand the problems you're having', that would be the start of a conversation young people might be interested in having. One way to do that would absolutely be to cut public spending and reduce income tax rates."

Nick Bosanquet, professor of health policy at Imperial College London and the co-author of the Class of 2005 report, said: "People under 35 could be described as a crossover generation, who are paying the cost of the welfare state without being able to expect many of the benefits."

As the population ages, under-35s are paying for higher spending.....continued below

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on the NHS and pensions, but are less likely to use health services and must save more for their own retirement.

They are also expected to pay for higher education directly. The report claims that an average graduate can expect to earn £150,000 more than someone with A-levels over their lifetime; less than half the amount predicted by the government.

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005