Labour came to power promising a new deal for working people. Nearly two years on, the data tells a very different story. Regular pay growth has fallen to 3.8%—the lowest level in five years—and when you strip out inflation, real wage growth is limping along at just 0.4%. That's not progress. That's stagnation dressed up in optimistic press releases.

The Numbers Don't Lie

The Office for National Statistics figures make uncomfortable reading for a government that staked its reputation on improving living standards. Regular pay growth at 3.8% represents a dramatic decline from the peaks of recent years, and real wage growth of 0.4% means workers are barely keeping pace with the cost of living.

What's particularly striking is the gap between public and private sector pay. Public sector wages grew by 5.9%, while private sector pay managed just 3.3%. That's a two-speed economy in action—one where the state sector is protected by government spending while the private sector, which actually generates wealth and employment, is left to fend for itself.

This isn't an abstract economic debate. For families in Preston East and across the country, it means the weekly shop costs more, the energy bills are higher, and the pay packet doesn't stretch as far as it used to. When your wages barely outpace inflation, you're running on a treadmill that's slowly speeding up.

Youth Unemployment: A Generation Left Behind

Perhaps the most damning statistic in the latest data is youth unemployment. The number of 18-to-24-year-olds out of work has reached approximately 600,000—the highest level since 2015. A decade of supposed progress, wiped out in under two years of Labour governance.

These aren't just numbers on a spreadsheet. These are young people who should be starting careers, building skills, and contributing to their communities. Instead, they're stuck in a cycle of zero-hours contracts, unpaid internships, and dead-end applications. Labour's answer has been more regulation and higher employer costs through National Insurance increases—policies that make businesses think twice before hiring anyone at all.

Reform UK understands that the way to create jobs for young people isn't to make hiring more expensive. It's to reduce the burden on businesses, cut unnecessary regulation, and create an environment where employers want to expand and invest. You don't grow the economy by taxing it into submission.

The Public-Private Divide

The growing gap between public and private sector pay is a symptom of a deeper problem. When the government prioritises above-inflation pay rises for the public sector while private sector workers see their earnings stagnate, it creates a fundamental imbalance in the economy.

Public sector workers deserve fair pay—no one disputes that. But when the differential grows this wide, it starts pulling talent away from the productive sectors of the economy. Small businesses, which are the backbone of communities like Preston East, can't compete with government-funded pay packets. The result is a hollowing out of the private sector workforce at precisely the time when we need entrepreneurship and innovation the most.

Labour's approach has always been to expand the state. But you can't have a thriving public sector without a healthy private sector to fund it. The tax base doesn't grow by government decree—it grows when businesses succeed, when workers earn more, and when entrepreneurs are rewarded for taking risks.

What Reform UK Would Do Differently

Reform UK's economic agenda starts with a simple premise: make it easier for businesses to grow and for workers to keep more of what they earn. That means reducing the tax burden on working people, cutting National Insurance costs for employers, and eliminating the regulatory obstacles that prevent small businesses from expanding.

We'd scrap the Employment Rights Bill provisions that are making businesses reluctant to hire. We'd reform the apprenticeship levy to ensure it actually funds training rather than sitting in government coffers. And we'd create enterprise zones in areas like Preston where local businesses can grow without being strangled by red tape.

The choice is clear. Labour's approach of higher taxes, more regulation, and bigger government is delivering exactly what you'd expect: lower wage growth, higher youth unemployment, and an economy that's slowly grinding to a halt. Reform UK offers a different path—one that trusts working people and the businesses that employ them to build prosperity from the ground up.