Big Issue calls for new earning opportunities for young people, as YouGov poll reveals 67% of UK adults predict will be economically worse off than their parents

• Two thirds (67%) of UK adults think children today will have worse economic opportunities than their parents, according to a YouGov poll for the Big Issue
• Polling comes as Big Issue launches new Transformation Fund to find new earning opportunities for young people not in education, employment or training (NEET)
• Former Deputy PM Angela Rayner: “More than anything, the Big Issue gives people a second chance”

Wednesday 20 May – Two-thirds (67%) of UK adults think children growing up today will have worse economic opportunities than their parents, according to new YouGov polling commissioned by the Big Issue^[1].

Big Issue is highlighting the challenges facing the next generation in line with the publication of its latest Group Impact Report, which lays out how the 35-year-old social enterprise striving to meet the needs of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) and their disproportionate risk of falling into poverty.

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^[2].

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.

Their 2026 Group Impact Report reveals Big Issue Invest has deployed more than £650,000 to 21 social businesses supporting children and young people. The social enterprise group intends to use this experience to develop more “future focused” earning and learning opportunities for NEETs, partly funded by a new Transformation Fund launched in line with its 35^th birthday.

YouGov’s polling for Big Issue also reveals widespread pessimism around the ability of the five largest UK political parties to reduce rising levels of unemployment.

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 aremore 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 the 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.

Paul Cheal, CEO of the Big Issue Group said: “Big Issue has spent the past 35 years creating opportunities for people excluded from society to change their own lives. 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.”

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.”

Big Issue Group’s new impact report, published today (Wednesday 20 May), shows that its 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.

Big Issue is 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.

Inclusive recruitment company Big Issue Recruit, launched in 2022, has grown quickly in its first three years. 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.

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.

Read Big Issue’s full Group Impact Report at bigissue.com/big-issue-group-impact.

^[1] 2,140 UK adults were surveyed by YouGov between 15^th and 16^th April 2026.

^[1] Young people not in education, employment or training (NEET), UK: February 2026 https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peoplenotinwork/unemployment/bulletins/youngpeoplenotineducationemploymentortrainingneet/february2026

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NOTES TO EDITOR

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc.  Total sample size was 2,140 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 15^th – 16^th April.  The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).

Respondents were asked “Do you think children growing up in the UK today will have better or worse economic opportunities than their parents?”:

• Much better: 2%
• Somewhat better: 9%
• Neither better nor worse: 16%
• Somewhat worse: 39%
• Much worse: 28%
• Don’t know: 7%

Respondents were also asked “Which of the following parties, if any, do you think would be best for reducing the number of people in unemployment in the UK?”:

• Labour Party: 12%
• Conservative Party: 15%
• Liberal Democrats: 5%
• Reform UK: 14%
• Green Party: 10%
• Another party: 4%
• None of these: 16%
• Don’t know: 24%