Miliband: Cameron betraying young
A generation is growing up in Britain which is in danger of being unable to afford to buy their own homes until they are middle-aged, Ed Miliband is to warn.
In a keynote speech at the Royal Festival Hall in London, the Labour leader will accuse David Cameron of betraying the young - saying they are being forced to bear an unfair share of the Government's cuts.
He will dismiss the Prime Minister's claim that the Government is taking drastic action to tackle the deficit in order to ensure that young people growing up now are not left to shoulder the debts of their parents.
"The Jam generation" of politicians - like Mr Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne who grew up listening to the iconic band in the 1980s and now dominate government - is, he will say, in danger of creating the "jilted generation".
"His (Mr Cameron's) claim to be protecting the next generation by making this his only priority is blown apart because they are bearing so much of the burden for his decisions: from cuts to sure start to the end of educational maintenance allowances to the trebling of tuition fees," he is expected to say.
Mr Miliband will point to the steadily rising age of first time home buyers as evidence of the way that the young are suffering from the financial squeeze.
"The average age of first time buyers was 30 in the mid-1980s. Today, it stands at 37. Our generation of politicians must act soon or people will be waiting until their 40s before they buy their first home," he will say.
With his marriage to his partner Justine Thornton taking place this week, Mr Miliband reflected on his own concerns for their two young sons.
"For us, our boys Daniel and Sam will be the most important people at our wedding and I'd like to speak today, not just about them, but about the prospect of their whole generation," he will say.
"I am worried - and every parent should be worried - about what will happen to our children in the coming decades. About what the future holds for us, our children and our country. About what sort of place Britain will become."
