Nigel Farage has launched a blistering attack on Labour and the Conservatives, accusing both parties of “importing millions of migrants” while “hanging Britain’s young people out to dry.”
In a fiery broadside, the Reform UK leader claimed more than one million young Britons are now stuck outside education, work or training — yet the country is still “importing masses of cheap labour” to plug skills gaps. Farage slammed the situation as “nonsense,” saying young people are being pushed into a bleak choice between university or unemployment.
Farage pointed to collapsing apprenticeship numbers — now at their lowest level since 2010 — and argued that the few remaining places are being snapped up by adults over 25. He said Britain’s youth have been “abandoned” by the political establishment.
According to Farage, a future Reform government would unleash a “Skills Revolution”, aiming for 600,000 apprenticeship starts a year by the end of its first Parliament. He said the plan would train young Britons for trades such as plumbing, engineering and care, instead of relying on what he called “cheap foreign labour.”
Farage also took aim at what he described as “endless red tape and taxation,” claiming small and medium‑sized businesses are being blocked from hiring young workers. He said Reform would slash costs, deregulate SMEs and offer new incentives — including a 30% salary tax credit for firms taking on young apprentices, plus a £2,000 payment to apprentices who stay with their employer for two years after qualifying.
He branded the current system a “liability” for small businesses, insisting that under Reform it would become “the clear choice” for employers seeking reliable staff.
Farage further vowed to crack down on what he called “Mickey Mouse degrees,” saying low‑value university courses should be defunded and money redirected into vocational training.