It’s for their own good – honest

Anyone remember ROSLA? In 1972, the conservative government raised the school leaving age from 15 to 16, amid accusations that it was a cynical ploy to reduce youth unemployment figures. Last month the possibility of raising it again to 18 was aired.

Today, the Times has published youth unemployment figures which show that:

More young people are out of work now than when Labour won power in 1997 by promising to cut youth unemployment, official figures obtained by The Times reveal.

There are now 37,000 more unemployed people aged 16 to 24 than in May 1997, with the total rising from 665,000 to 702,000, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Apparently the unemployment rate for 16 and 17-year-olds in London has doubled over the last decade to 42.9%

Maybe we should just get it over with in one fell swoop and raise the school-leaving age to – what – 25? 30?