Work, Wages & the End of Precarity
Young people feel they work hard but get little back.
This is about work: whether young people in County Durham can find jobs with fair pay, secure hours, rights and real progression.
Too often, young people graft, take whatever shifts are available and still struggle to build independence, confidence, housing security or a future locally.
The Reality for Young People
Young people face low pay, insecure hours, zero-hours work, limited progression, youth unemployment and pressure to leave the area for better jobs.
What Labour Says — and What Labour Has Done
Labour says insecure work is not inevitable. Through the Employment Rights Act 2025 and the Plan to Make Work Pay, reforms are being phased in during 2026 and 2027, including stronger rights on zero- and low-hours contracts, day-one family leave, improved Statutory Sick Pay, stronger whistleblowing protections, collective redundancy protections and tighter rules on fire and rehire.
Labour also points to the National Wealth Fund, skills partnerships, green industry, and transport, digital and energy upgrades as ways to attract better employers and create clearer routes into good work in the North East.
What Reform UK Says — Nationally and Locally
Reform UK argues that lower regulation, lower business costs and simpler employment law would make employers more likely to hire. It supports apprenticeships in principle, but has not set out comparable regional investment plans, major levy reforms or detailed employer-attraction programmes for County Durham.
On Durham County Council, Reform UK councillors have criticised spending, opposed some regeneration projects and called for deregulation, but have not delivered comparable job-creation, employer-attraction or youth employment initiatives.
What This Means for Young People
The choice is about the kind of working future young people can build: Labour’s approach uses employment rights and targeted investment to improve job security and progression; Reform UK’s approach relies mainly on deregulation to encourage hiring.
For County Durham, the central question is whether policy helps young people stay, earn fairly and progress — or leaves them relying on insecure work or moving away to find opportunity.
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