Andy Burnham to urge MPs to back radical welfare cuts to get young people off benefits and into work

Andy Burnham will this week battle to face down Labour critics of radical welfare reforms to get young people off benefits and into work.

The Prime Minister is expected to use a special meeting of Labour MPs on Tuesday morning to urge them to back Alan Milburn's review into youth unemployment before it is formally presented to the Commons. 

Mr Milburn will unveil plans for billions of pounds of upfront investment to help young people find jobs by slashing sickness aid and other benefits to help pay for that investment.

His report will recommend how to curb the number of so-called 'Neets' – 16- to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training – which topped a million earlier this year for the first time in more than a decade.

On Saturday, Mr Milburn proposed a legally binding 'opportunity guarantee' to give 16- to 24-year-olds a job, training or employment support. 

He told the BBC: 'It should be a guarantee for a young person. Because at the moment, the only guarantee they've got is a very simple thing – to get a benefit. What sort of a life is that?'

However, there is deep unease on Labour's Left at the threat that young people already on state support may lose money – with some claiming it will mean disabled people who cannot work will be poorer.

On Saturday night, one senior Labour MP told The Mail on Sunday: 'I suspect this will only go ahead if it applies to future claimants – not those young people currently claiming benefits. In the end, I think Burnham will have to compromise on this – it's the only fair way.'

Prime Minister Andy Burnham spoke during the Welsh Labour conference 2026 at the Venue Cymru, Llandudno, on Saturday

However, allies of the PM warned that would mean 'years more delay' before any savings were realised.

And in a BBC interview to be broadcast on Sunday, Mr Milburn warns spending on benefits for young people was 25 times as much as funding on employment support.

But Mr Milburn made clear that the spending ratio of benefits spending to employment had to be cut from 25 to one to potentially two to one.

He added: 'To do that, we've got to invest, less in benefits, so we've got to be paying out less in benefits.'

Addressing the Welsh Labour conference on Saturday, the PM vowed that Labour 'can do better' for too many young people 'feeling lost in their 20s and feeling there's no alternative other than benefits'.

However, last week, he declined to give a 'blanket assurance' that he would implement all of Mr Milburn's proposals in full.

And over the weekend, outspoken Labour backbencher Clive Lewis warned that a 'large number' of Labour colleagues were unlikely to accept the proposals, saying: 'We didn't come into politics to cut from the most vulnerable young disabled people'.

However, Labour party managers are so far privately confident that any rebellion by their MPs can be contained to a small number of left-wingers.

Former health secretary Alan Milburn speaks to the media on the publication of the interim Milburn Report into Young People and Work, at West Library Youth Employment Hub, north London, in May

The Tories responded last night by setting out five tests for the Milburn review to pass, including whether it would 'cut the costs on businesses to create real jobs for young people, not taxpayer-subsidised ones'.

The programme outlined by Mr Milburn, who is no longer an MP, is expected to be presented to the Commons by Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden on Tuesday.

On Saturday night, Mr McFadden's department announced that more than 90,000 18 to 24-year-olds claiming Universal Credit and looking for work would be guaranteed a fully-funded, six-month job matched to their skills by March 2029.

The 'Job Guarantee' scheme was previously in force in six areas with some of the highest levels of unemployment but will now be available across all areas of England, Scotland and Wales.

Mr McFadden said: 'The longer someone is out of work, the harder it is to get back in, and no young person should be left waiting on a scrapheap for an opportunity.

'That is why we are expanding our guaranteed jobs scheme across Great Britain and bringing it forward, so that help arrives when it matters most.

'Employers are crying out for talent, and there is a generation of talent ready to be unleashed. We are backing them with the support they need to build a fulfilling future.'

But Tory welfare spokesperson Helen Whately MP said: 'Labour is treating the symptoms of its youth unemployment crisis rather than tackling the causes.

'Under Labour, businesses are being hit with higher taxes and more red tape, while the welfare bill continues to spiral.'

Ms Whately added: 'The answer is not to pour more money into half-baked government schemes - it's to make it easier for businesses to create real, lasting jobs and ensure that those who can work are expected to do so.

'The Conservatives would cut the jobs tax on young workers, create 100,000 more apprenticeships, and reform a welfare system that too often traps people in unemployment.

'Young people deserve real support to get themselves onto the career ladder, not another government-funded waiting room.'

READ MORE: It will cost £6BILLION to get young people back into work, Alan Milburn tells Andy Burnham