YOUNG people will “face the future with confidence” under a Labour government, Jeremy Corbyn said as the party launched its youth manifesto at the weekend.
The document, The Future Is Ours, was released on Saturday in Loughborough, a Conservative-held marginal constituency that has more resident students than any other Tory seat.
The youth manifesto pledges to give 16-year-olds the right to vote and a £10 minimum wage.
Labour would also ban unpaid internships, abolish tuition fees, invest £250 million in youth services and create apprenticeships in new green industries.
Speaking at the rally, shadow minister for young people and voter engagement Cat Smith said: “When I was a young worker in a minimum wage job, I could not understand why it was fair that my work was worth less than an older worker on the checkout next to me because of the discrimination in the minimum wage.
“You don’t get food cheaper because you’re younger. Your landlord doesn’t give you cheaper rent because you’re younger.
“That’s why Labour’s policy to end this discrimination is common sense – these policies can change your life.”
CWU national executive committee youth rep Luke Elgar described the rise of casualised work and how his union wants to fight for decent jobs.
He told the audience: “Imagine a country where insecure jobs like at Amazon or Sports Direct are the norm.
“They don’t want us to have our say, because we don’t follow the same ideas of this Tory establishment.”
Closing the rally, Mr Corbyn said: “We need to unleash the hope, experience and optimism of the next generation to bring about a future that’s good for all of us.
“This manifesto is made by real experts — people working in factories, in hospitals, road sweepers.
“Our job is to help people face the future with confidence.
“We can win that if we fight hard to get a red Christmas and a Labour government.”
Other speakers included Loughborough Labour candidate Stuart Brady, Labour Club president Bell Holland, anti-fracking campaigner Tara Choudhury and singer Jermain Jackman.
The manifesto launch followed 206,000 under-34s registering to vote on Friday.
That figure is believed to have set a new British record for voter registration on a single day.
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