On the day that youth unemployment figures have risen to a record high, prompting renewed concern that young people are bearing the brunt for the economic downturn. Ed Balls MP, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer has spoken exclusively to Save EMA to criticise the government’s lacklustre approach to youth unemployment by scrapping successful schemes such as the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA).

Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, Ed Balls MP, told Save EMA:

“People in my constituency in Wakefield and Leeds remember the massive scars to our communities in the 1980s as youth unemployment went up year after year after year under the Thatcher government, and I’m afraid we are going back to those days.

“The news today is that youth unemployment is at its highest level since 1992, almost a million young people aged 16-24 are out of work, what a time to be cutting back on places for apprenticeships, what a time to be making it harder to get to university, above all abolishing the EMA, the education maintenance allowance, What a tragic time to be doing this.

“The reason we introduced the EMA was because in our country too many young people were leaving school at 16, and we changed that with EMA and it worked.

“It meant participation went up and all the trails we did showed EMA made the difference.

“Now when I am visiting schools and colleges in my constituency and across the country

young people are saying it is going to make it harder.

“There will be some people who will go anyway, there are some people who won’t go and there will be some young people who it makes the difference and that chance is being taken away. I think it is a disaster for the future of our country, it is deeply unfair and I think it’s very short sighted.

Michael Gove said very publicly before the election that Ed Balls keeps saying I’m going to abolish the EMA, it’s not true. And then what’s happened, this coalition government have said they are going to abolish the EMA. I think David Cameron and Michael Gove should keep their promises and I think they should do right by young people.

I would urge you to back this campaign, and let’s Save EMA.”

According to a YouGov poll last week almost half the British public oppose the government’s plans to abolish the Education Maintenance Allowances (EMA).The poll also showed that a substantial amount of those who voted for both coalition parties at the last election and who intend to vote at coming elections also oppose the abolition of the EMA:

• 50 % who voted Lib Dem in 2010 oppose abolition of EMA
• 42% who still intend to vote Lib Dem oppose abolition of EMA
• 27% who voted Conservative in 2010
• 25% who still intend to vote Conservative oppose Abolition of EMA

Save EMA is worried that instead of the government seeing these unemployment figures as a sign post that you shouldn’t scrap schemes like EMA they blindly carry on risking chances for young people…