Unintended consequence

Even among those young people ambivalent about politics, the sense that we are no longer a viable proposition for those in power becomes more amd more manifest.

Inequity rears its head in many ways. The student protests that have caught the headlines since 2010, the sit-ins, walk-outs and marches all arise from a similar political conviction that if the state insists on taking so little interest in us then self-interest must play out, the 2010 riots being the most remarkable in that respect.

Since that date, it is not only the young generation but also the economy which has experienced growing pains. Osborne's economic myopia has, through "necessary" cuts, desiccated our support networks but also ensured that even if we pay these new costs ourselves there won't be a job at the end of it to solve our debts.

Youth unemployment is nearly a million and the supposed solution - the Youth Contract formulated by Iain Duncan Smith - is the dampest of squibs.

This is what makes the odious label "scrounger" so much more infuriating. No-one can work their way out of poverty or debt without opportunity yet many youths are portrayed as workshy layabouts. In reality the government has removed the rungs from the ladder and still expects us to climb it.

The ongoing rhetoric that tries to undermine this palpable injustice is equally scandalous. It is impossible not to laugh at the government's great maxim of "We are all in this together." While the super-rich toy with extraordinary figures, energy companies scheme in Machiavellian coalition and global corporations dodge tax, the most vulnerable are saddled with new debts. Young people form part of this shafted percentile.

Attacks on support include the scrapping of EMA, a move that made the sixth-former the martyr of other's far more dizzying expenses.

Nick Clegg surrendered both his debatable principles and political career in order to triple tuition fees, a two-faced stunt that increased the financial burden on students when such a debt should not even exist.

The cutting of preventative services like child and adolescent mental health not only removes the safety net for those without recourse but is a false economy in itself.

Statutory care will see a debilitating influx of those whose family can't support. Nearly 2,000 young people take their lives every year and the number is rising. How illuminating necessary evils can be.

Even forgetting the injustice, the government's attack on the resources of young people is a form of masochism. In the long term such policies endanger not only their party support, which one could call a mixed blessing, but also our economy.

The government appears completely disinterested in investing in a future workforce. A recent survey by the National Union of Students found that 42 per cent of those involved seriously considered abandoning their studies with nearly a half attributing this to financial concerns.

Soaring rents, fuel prices and transport costs are a cause of desperation for young people. It is the harshness of economic reality which is sapping away any opportunity to "strive," rather than a question of character.

While the job market and student support have been run to the ground, Michael Gove is reforming education with stark arrogance. An apparent educator who enjoys Wagner yet excludes the arts from the disastrous EBacc, he shows a telling cultural relativity.

This distortion of elitism is perfectly apparent in his effort to change our education system with little consultation and a whole heap of didacticism.

An opportunity for effective reform has been lost and, in contrast to the 2004 Tomlinson findings which advocated wide consultation and less assessment, Gove has ploughed ahead with his exam factory proposals.

Again, the government is abandoning those who cannot so easily strive to success. To take his proposals seriously is to give credence to a man who wishes to "ban curves" in new build schools. Gradgrindian? Not half.

When journalists or politicians cover this issue they can often read like tourists, engaging in a culture with unintentional condescension. We must hope that young people don't give up their own dissent.

Criticism must be cross-generational and is all the more solid for it. The message for youth is: don't believe the hype. The damage to our education and prospects can never be justified as necessary. If the Con-Dems tell you such, remember them for the charlatans that they are.

Our generation has no advocate in the government.