This was a response to comments from London Mayor Boris Johnson that many unemployed young people lacked the right attitude and energy to get a job during times of record youth unemployment.
NUS President, Liam Burns, said:
“Mr Johnson should concentrate on helping London’s young people and not writing them off. He is badly out of touch if he thinks it is their attitude, rather than a stagnant economy and Government decisions to scrap EMA and the Future Jobs Fund and charge older learners for doing A-Levels, that has left so many young people unable to find a job.
“By perpetuating the myth that young people are lazy or work-shy the Mayor is making it harder not easier for young people to convince employers to invest in them.
“His is a welcome acknowledgement that immigrants are a valuable addition to the UK’s economy but if any mayoral candidate wants the votes of young people this year they have to support young people. Mr Johnson has labelled young people a ‘feral underclass’ in the past and now calls them lethargic. He should spend some time with the thousands of young people who desperately want to work but are left on the scrap heap by politicians like him.”