Two-thirds of adults predict kids today will be worse off than their parents

Two-thirds (67%) of UK adults think children growing up today will have worse economic opportunities than their parents.

That’s according to new YouGov polling exclusively for Big Issue, which brings home the challenges facing the next generation.

There’s also a widespread pessimism in the ability of the five largest UK political parties to reduce rising levels of unemployment.

Read more:

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Four in ten UK adults (40%) say they either “don’t know” which party is best placed to reduce the number of unemployed people (24%) or that “none of these” would be best (16%).

The public are more likely to back the Tories (15%) or Reform (14%) to reduce unemployment than Labour (12%) or the Green Party (10%). Only 32% of people who voted for Labour at the 2024 general election currently back them to be the best party at reducing unemployment.

The chief executive of Big Issue said the polling showed the need for business to meet the complex challenges facing young people and to create new earning and learning opportunities for NEETs.

“Big Issue has spent the past 35 years creating opportunities for people excluded from society to change their own lives,” said Paul Cheal, Big Issue Group CEO. “While our purpose endures, the world around us has changed dramatically – and the distinct pessimism in this polling shows a clear need for businesses like ours to innovate our support for the next generation.

“Entrepreneurship is in the Big Issue’s DNA, from the revolutionary magazine and its sellers that changed Britain’s high streets 35 years ago, to the innovative earning, learning and social investment opportunities we offer today. It’s in this spirit that we have launched a new Transformation Fund to design bold, future focused solutions, ensuring our impact continues for generations to come.”

Our latest Impact Report, published today (Wednesday 20 May), lays out how Big Issue intends to develop new “future focused” earning and learning opportunities for young people not in education, employment or training, part funded by a new Transformation Fund launched in line with our 35^th birthday.

The Office for National Statistics estimates that 957,000 young people are not in education, employment or training (NEET), a rise of around 11% since 2020.

Big Issue Group’s social investment arm, Big Issue Invest, is now directing more investment into businesses tackling the current NEET crisis and funding more early-years solutions targeting a reduction in risk factors that lead to people becoming NEET at 16. The impact report reveals they’ve deployed more than £650,000 to 21 social businesses supporting children and young people.

Our inclusive recruitment arm Big Issue Recruit, launched in 2022, is also helping address the crisis. 520 candidates sought the service’s support in 2025, with its model of one-to-one sustained job coach engagement successfully preparing two-thirds (66%) for the world of work.

Our iconic street sales model continues to provide an earning solution for thousands of people, with 3,316 people working as Big Issue vendors in 2025, earning £3.3 million in collective income.

We are investing to ensure that vendors can continue to earn an increasingly cashless society. More than 60% of Big Issue vendors are now equipped to take cashless payments, with more than 15,000 transactions to date.

Speaking at the Big Issue’s 35^th anniversary dinner in Spitalfields, London, on the evening of Monday 17 May, the Rt. Hon. Angela Rayner MP said: “The Big Issue provides the dignity of a hand-up. That opportunity to become economically active, build confidence, develop new skills and a sense of dignity. That’s why I got involved in politics and it’s why I’m a supporter of the Big Issue.

“More than anything, the Big Issue gives people a second chance, and of course I know what I’m talking about when it comes to second chances.”

Since 1991, Big Issue has supported more than 108,000 vendors to earn a legitimate income and invested more than £100 million in over 500 purpose-driven businesses through Big Issue Invest.

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