Youth outside London less positive and fear they will never succeed, poll finds

Young people living outside London are significantly more likely to feel pessimistic about their future, with many fearing they will never be able to afford a home, save for retirement or earn enough to support a family, new data reveals.

- ATHENA STAVROU

Exclusive statistics seen by The Independent show that young people in London answered every question about their financial prospects more optimistically than the national average. In contrast, those in the East and West Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber, Scotland and Wales reported the lowest confidence levels.

The findings come from The King’s Trust’s annual youth index, which measures the attitudes of 16-to 25-year-olds across Britain. Despite soaring property prices in the capital, young Londoners remain the most hopeful about one day owning a home, with only 25 per cent believing they never will. That figure jumps to 41 per cent in the East of England and 37 per cent in Wales, rising even higher in cities like Portsmouth, where 55 per cent doubt they’ll ever be able to buy.

Londoners are also less likely to believe they won’t earn enough to support a family, with 23 per cent expressing concerns – 7 per cent lower than those in the East Midlands. Meanwhile, 23 per cent of young people in London fear they are “going to fail in life”, compared to a staggering 36 per cent in Wales and 34 per cent in the East Midlands.

Similarly, just 25 per cent of young people in the capital believe they won’t be as successful as their parents, while in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber, the figure rises to 39 per cent and 36 per cent, respectively. The numbers are even higher in cities such as Liverpool (47 per cent), Bristol (47 per cent), and Portsmouth (45 per cent).

‘Geographical limitations played a part in my career’