‘Failing to repair Neets disaster will likely be a catastrophe for children’ life possibilities and financial system’
OPINION: GMB General Secretary Gary Smith writes for The Mirror as Alan Milburn prepares to publish his report into the almost million young people classed as ‘Neets’ – those not in employment, education, or training
Failing to fix the Neets crisis will be a disaster for our economy and entire country, says GMB’s Gary Smith(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Right now, we have a million young people not in employment, education or training. Scarcely believable in 2026. If we don’t fix it, it’ll be a disaster for their life chances, and the prospects for our economy and entire country.
Another huge challenge facing us right now is how to keep the nation safe in more dangerous times. Central to this is ensuring we have the manufacturing industry to deliver the security and resilience that is so desperately needed.
We can solve these two problems together if we are prepared to make the right choices. For too long, the UK has been handing out key government contracts – in defence, infrastructure, or other key industries – to overseas producers, where British taxpayers’ money is creating jobs and boosting economies elsewhere instead of here at home.
It’s madness. This government has made it clear this will stop.The commitment to UK shipbuilding – in yards from Rosyth to Appledore, Belfast to Barrow, Aldershot to Plymouth, the Mersey to the Tyne – can be transformative.
The Chancellor has said the same for all kinds of other projects. While procurement might not sound like the most exciting topic, if the government chooses to buy British, it can make all the difference. Firms are able to plan for the years ahead and develop the workforce they need for it. Their suppliers will also look to train and employ more staff.
I’ve seen the benefits of such an approach when going around the country meeting GMB members in their workplaces. The thousands of new apprentices in Barrow, who are able to earn as they learn, are training to build the submarines that will help keep our defences strong. They are a vital part of a wider success story for their hometown, one that is bringing back jobs and creating prosperity in an industrial community that had been failed by Westminster.
The choice to nationalise and protect Scunthorpe’s steelworks means more young people can be optimistic about their future there too. And more of the country’s key infrastructure projects – whether railway lines, building hospitals, or roads – will be able to rely on UK supply chains, protected from shocks in global markets.
Valuing these and other core industries, and using government procurement to keep a pipeline of orders, will help deliver good, union jobs that pay well in working-class towns. At the same time, we will be training our next generation of engineers, welders, electricians and boilermakers. That’s a future we can all get behind.
Reform nursery dummies
In Barnsley, a Reform-led council is trying to slash nursery workers’ pensions. These low-paid women do so much for children and families in the heartland of our once mighty coal industry. They deserve better.
So, while Reform talk big about fighting for the working class, in town halls they are showing their true colours. Attacking workers and their livelihoods. These proud women are standing united. They remind me so much of the Glasgow women who battled for equal pay – sparking others in Birmingham, Brighton, Leeds, Swansea and across the country to fight for the wages stolen from them over so many years. Women are, still, system-atically undervalued and underpaid. But try and come for a GMB woman’s pay or pension? Don’t even think about it.
Trump’s Iran war and Putin’s invasion led skyrocketing bills
Trump’s war in Iran and Putin’s invasion of Ukraine led to skyrocketing energy bills. We are too reliant on overseas energy sources. The Tories closed our gas storage facilities: a terrible, short-sighted decision. With investment in extra gas capacity and other home-grown energy sources, we can protect ourselves from these shocks.
Change is being delivered at Amazon – and about time too
Jeff Bezos may enjoy jetting off to space, but he wasn’t smiling when Amazon staff joined GMB. Low pay and poor working conditions mean many workers want a union to represent them.
The new package of workers’ rights delivered by the government means they may finally get what they want. Change is being delivered at Amazon – and about time too.
