Young people are losing faith in society - this is how we bring them back

For too many young people today, the traditional promises that once underpinned modern British life no longer feel credible. The old pathway - work hard, study hard, contribute to society and steadily build a secure future - has fractured.

For millions, work no longer guarantees stability. Education no longer guarantees opportunity. Housing has shifted from aspiration to impossibility. Even the most basic milestones of adulthood – independence, starting a family, home ownership, long-term security – are drifting further and further out of reach.

According to data from the Children’s Commissioner, nine in ten young people worry about the future, with concerns around employment, money and housing dominating their anxieties.

A society cannot expect long-term cohesion when large numbers of young people feel permanently trapped between adolescence and survival. We cannot sustain a healthy democracy or a stable economy if younger generations increasingly believe the system offers responsibility without reward.

The challenge goes beyond low wages or rising rents. It is the cumulative erosion of certainty. Young people are being asked to shoulder greater financial, social and psychological risk while standing on increasingly fragile foundations. They are told to invest in themselves, yet many feel locked out of the stability previous generations often took for granted.

There are signs that Westminster is beginning to recognise the scale of the issue. Frontbench Labour figures such as Luke Charters MP have spoken about the idea of a “triple lock” for under-30s in the aftermath of Labour’s difficult local election results. The political conversation is moving. But conversation alone is no longer enough.

What Britain needs now is action grounded in realism, dignity and long-term thinking.

At the Institute of Research and Reforms (IRR) International, we have seen firsthand how targeted local interventions can make a difference. By working alongside Andrew Snowden MP, we are helping support young people through community initiatives such as Adam Little Boxing, funding training sessions that provide discipline, mentorship, confidence, structure and purpose. These projects may appear small in the context of national policy, but they reflect something important: young people thrive when society invests meaningfully in them.

A new social contract must therefore begin with restoring basic stability and believable pathways forward. That begins with restoring believable pathways into adulthood. Young people aged 18 and 19 who are working should receive the full National Minimum Wage, not a discounted version of economic participation.

Universities must also undergo serious reform. Too often, higher education prioritises theory without adequately preparing students for practical working life. A modern education system should guarantee meaningful skills, adaptability and employability by the time students graduate.

Many young people no longer feel institutions are designed with them in mind. Too often, they feel managed, measured and marketed to but rarely listened to. Endless cultural distraction and political slogans cannot substitute for stability, dignity and genuine opportunity.

A healthy society is one where young people feel they have a stake in the future they are helping to build.

Without that, frustration, alienation and social fragmentation will continue to deepen. The question facing Westminster is therefore no longer whether a new social contract is needed. It is whether we are willing to build one before an entire generation loses faith in the possibility of shared progress altogether.

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Ali Rehman Malik is the chair of the Institute of Research and Reforms (IRR) International and a philanthropist.

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