One million youngsters should be given jobs left by departing migrants, insists John Healey

YOUNGSTERS facing the jobs scrapheap must be lined up to fill vacancies left by departing migrants, the Chancellor says. John Healey insists the one million young people not earning or learning should be employed to avoid the “huge waste” of their potential. John Healey says that youngsters facing the jobs scrapheap must be lined up to fill vacancies left by departing migrants Credit: Glen Minikin The Chancellor insists the one million young people not earning or learning should be employed to avoid the ‘huge waste’ of their potential Credit: Getty Damning figures show there are more than a million 16 to 24-year-olds known as Neets — not in education, employment or training. When asked whether those young people should fill the gaps as the Government cracks down on illegal immigration, Mr Healey said: “100 per cent”. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Thank you! He added: “For too long this country has made that easy trade-off [filling job vacancies with migrant workers]. “The number of people coming in just ballooned under Boris Johnson — and Conservative governments lost control of any sense of the border. “We’ve got to have a fair migration system. But fundamentally we’ve got to make sure that where we’ve got vacancies we want British youngsters — and British people — being trained and doing those jobs.” Net migration hit 944,000 in the year to March 2023. But the numbers dropped to 171,000 in the year to December 2025. Jobs czar Alan Milburn is conducting an independent review of youth inactivity. Most read in The Sun He said we face a “lost generation” without action being taken. The Labour grandee has produced an interim report and will now publish his findings in the autumn. Business has blamed the rise of the minimum wage for being a barrier to taking on young people. At the same time, bosses have complained about other labour costs, notably increasing National Insurance contributions and excessive red tape, such as new employment rights laws. Andy Burnham says he is “on a mission” to reduce the numbers of Neets. But he said it would be wrong to blame young people when the education system is not set up correctly. The PM says “building blocks” have to be put in place, such as work experience and work placements. Comment now