Budget 2015: 5 ways the all-Tory statement is hurting young people

George Osborne has delivered the first truly Tory budget for nearly 20 years - and it's going to hit young people particularly hard.

Nobody really expected there to be any big gifts to the younger generation, which I'm part of - after all, we don't tend to vote Tory.

Even the rabbit out of the hat, Osborne's so-called living wage, won't be given to the under-25s.

Young people face a cycle of student debt, a struggle to find jobs - and poverty wages when they get one - and a housing crisis.

What are the Tories doing to break this? Not much it seems.

Here's the bits of the budget likely to hit the youngest hardest.

1. Young people aren't included in the living wage

Well, George, you really pulled the rabbit out of the hat with this one. Even Iain Duncan Smith was having a great air punching time when you announced this budget item. Introducing a living wage? Great. But wait- if you are under 25, it doesn't apply to you?

Oh.

22% of 16-24 year olds were in full time employment last year, with COUNTLESS others working part time to put themselves through college or uni.

And slaving away in a shop for minimum wage is soul crushing, whether you are 17 or 25.

You do the same job no matter what age you are.

To add to that, the proposed "Living Wage" is effectively an increase in the minimum wage to £7.20 by next April and to £9 by 2020.

The Living Wage Foundation calculated the living wage at £7.85 an hour, or £9.15 in London.

So it's already falling short.

Cheers.

2. Scrapping grants for university students

We live in a society where it's more or less essential to go to university to get into certain jobs.

So you pay £27,000 at least to go and study.

And on top of that you need books, study materials, costs of field trips... and then rent, food, transport costs... that's before you even think about trying to forge a social life.

Now grants worth up to £3,387 have been axed, leaving the poorest students without that lifeline which could have made the difference between going to university and not going.

We aren't "all in this together" are we George?

You weren't worried about whether you could afford to go to Oxford.

It's all well and good saying they can be replaced with loans instead, but realistically, it's going to put bright, passionate, intelligent working class students off going to uni.

3. Universities can increase tuition fees in line with inflation

So students aren't going to get paid the higher living wage, they aren't going to get grants or bursaries any more, and universities are allowed to increase their fees even further?

Is this really an equal opportunity for all to get to university? It's like you want us to be saddled with thousands of pounds worth of debt for years to come, George!

Robert Michaels wanted to apply for university in 2016, but says that after bursaries and grants have been scrapped for the poorest students in favour of loans, he simply cannot afford it any more.

"It's affected me in so many ways. I'm 22, I don't come from a wealthy background. Me and my friends were relying on the maintenance grants- now they are loans, it feels like it's too much debt at the end of our degrees."

Robert studied Politics, History and English Language at A-Level, gaining two As and a B.

He wanted to study politics at the university of Hull or Essex.

"It's not just about uni, my family have spent the last five years struggling because of the bedroom tax, really struggling."

"My brother and sister are both mentally ill and rely on disability benefits. My sister has had hers taken away and given back literally five times in the last five years"

"We didn't choose this, no one chose this- we just want a future. I don't know how our parents are going to support us."

Robert's parents have to look after his brother and sister, aged 25 and 28, and are unable to work because of it.

"My dad would love to work, but he has to look after his family. He used to work. Now I feel like the government looks down on him."

"When the fees got tripled in 2010 I felt awful about it, I considered not going then- I felt like I needed uni to prosper, but it's too much debt. It's what, £13,000, £14,000 per year now that grants are loans."

"It's too much to pay back."

"The government does not have my interests in mind. I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and enter a company and try and work my way up."

"They aren't giving us a chance to succeed."

4. Tax credits to be cut for families with 2 or more children

This policy could affect a wealth of young people in a variety of different ways.

Immediately, there's the risk young people could rush into having another child before the 2017 cut off.

And further down the line working families who desperately want more children will think twice because low wages mean they might not be able to make ends meet.

Then, of course, there's the effect on the teenagers themselves, who'll have to scrape by with less support from their families.

How can parents afford to give them a helping hand into work if it's a struggle just to buy food, clothes and hot water?

5. Scrapping housing benefit for 18 - 21 year olds

The clear danger of this policy is that it's going to force young people to live in abusive or uncomfortable households when they really don't want to, and it would be detrimental to their health and wellbeing to do so.

Under 25s already make up around a third of homeless people- obviously, it makes sense: lower earners and the more vulnerable members of society are more likely to end up on the streets if they need to escape toxic living situations.

It's feeding a vicious cycle of homelessness and poverty. If you cut a person off young, they may well need more help when they are older.

Osborne says his budget is providing security for the nation.

But with this demonstrable lack of support for the next generation of workers, parents and adults, they won't be helping the future of the UK at all.