Leading UK think-tank will tonight launch a new policy initiative aimed at increasing economic opportunities for Britain’s young people

The Adam Smith Institute (ASI) is launching the Next Generation Centre -  a new policy initiative which will be proposing bold new ideas, by young people and for young people - at an event tonight in Westminster.

Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Bim Afolami MP will be joining the Centre as a Patron, and will be making the keynote speech at tonight’s launch event.

The Centre will be commissioning research from new ‘Next Generation’ fellows, building lasting relationships with the policy-makers of the future, while also building on the ASI’s existing body of work on how and why our current economic model is failing to deliver for young people. 

In an accompanying paper, new Director of the Next Generation Centre, Sam Bidwell, outlines the six ways in which young people in Britain today are facing worse economic outcomes than their parents and grandparents; including housing affordability, renting costs, tax, higher education and professional prospects, family formation, and the ability to save for the future.

As this new report highlights, the economic challenges facing young people are directly responsible for their increasing disillusionment with our political system, markets and even liberal democracy itself. But with the right ideas, we can re-engage young people by allowing their natural dynamism to flourish.

Commenting on his new role as Patron of the Next Generation Centre, Bim Afolami MP said: 

“The Adam Smith Institute has a rich history of putting forward bold new ideas to improve the lives of Britain’s young people, and so I’m delighted to be supporting their Next Generation Centre as a Patron.

The Conservatives have always understood that young people are inherently ambitious and entrepreneurial, and that it is our historic duty to help them realise their goals in life. I am sure that this initiative will complement the work that the Government is doing to deliver greater opportunities for young people.”

Commenting on the launch of the Next Generation Centre, its Director Sam Bidwell said:

“Up and down the country, young people increasingly feel that the economic status quo isn’t delivering for them. Whether it be because extortionate housing and renting costs are denying them the opportunity of owning their own home, or because higher education no longer meets their needs, they are turning away from the ideas and institutions that made Britain so successful.

But it doesn’t have to be this way- liberal democracy and free markets have in the past delivered enormous prosperity, and they can do so again. This will require more than tinkering at the margins; addressing the intergenerational gap will require a fundamental reconfiguration of how we think about our economy.

 We at the Next Generation Centre look forward to working constructively with the Government and all those across politics who want to increase opportunities for our young people.”

Notes to editors:

Bim Afolami MP has joined the Next Generation Centre as a Patron. He will be supporting the Centre’s ambition to deliver greater opportunities for young people through bold, market-orientated ideas. 

As Patron, he will be supporting the aims of the Centre, but his role does not constitute a formal endorsement of all of the Centre’s proposals. 

Sam Bidwell is the Director of the Next Generation Centre. He has worked as a Parliamentary Researcher, and as a Press and Research Consultant for the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council. He is a graduate of the University of Cambridge where he specialised in public law, jurisprudence, and legal history. 

The Adam Smith Institute is a free market think tank based in London. It advocates classically liberal public policies to create a richer, freer world.