More than half of young adults have thought about leaving the UK

Local TV

A new study by the Adam Smith Institute suggests that many young adults feel overtaxed, underhoused and undervalued, with some actively planning to move abroad. Separate research found that many older people feel they would do the same if they were young again.

Transcript

00:00A new survey by the Adam Smith Institute asked thousands of people aged 18 to 30 a simple question.

00:09Given the choice, would you choose to stay in Britain or would you rather leave?

00:14More than half thought about emigrating.

00:17Young people are disillusioned with a lot.

00:20Hey, welcome to the modern world.

00:23And indeed, you go back sort of centuries ago, you would hear the same sort of thing.

00:27It's a kind of rite of passage, but I do think there's something more to this insofar as people and younger people in particular,

00:34they are sort of feeling that the world is not what they want it to be.

00:38Of course, the challenge is to try and sort of create a better world.

00:41But we live in sort of very difficult times, particularly, of course, in terms of getting on the housing ladder, access to the NHS,

00:50people coming out of university with really good degrees and not being able to sort of get jobs.

00:53and even the jobs they get are sort of short term, gig type sort of jobs, the gig economy and the sort of short term working and whatever else.

01:03So put all that together, people are sort of looking to sort of elsewhere, maybe the grass is greener.

01:09Researchers say housing is the biggest concern, with 65% believing it will become harder to afford a home in the next five years.

01:17Young voters from all major parties express similar worries about housing, access, wages and financial security.

01:27The study warns that unless things change, the UK could face a growing ambition exodus just when younger workers are most needed.

01:36The irony is, of course, up until Brexit, and of course, Brexit probably kicked in after sort of the get Brexit done election in 2019.

01:44And of course, we're now sort of seeing the sort of the full impact of that.

01:47It would have been possible to go and try your luck in another European country with all the access to the services that we have in this country.

01:54And of course, employment. That, of course, is now not impossible, so much more difficult.

01:59I suspect that some people have been attracted to the sort of the Far East, perhaps, maybe even the Middle East, where sort of jobs exist.

02:06America, well, who knows?

02:08Young people like to travel, to experience different things.

02:11I suspect that eventually maybe come back to this country.

02:14So really difficult times, and I have great sympathies.

02:16And of course, what we've got to remember is the sort of the current Labour government came in only what sort of just over a year and a half ago,

02:23promising for better times.

02:25And that so far is not transpiring.

02:27Indeed, quite the contrary.

02:28So worrying.

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