The Conservative Party’s work and pensions spokesman, Helen Whately, urged young people not to use minor mental health conditions as a reason to avoid employment, during a fringe event at the party’s conference in Birmingham. Whately criticized what she described as a growing trend among students and young adults to rely on welfare benefits shortly after finishing their studies, characterizing it as a “lifestyle choice” that the party intends to challenge through welfare reform.

Speaking at an event hosted by the Centre for Policy Studies think tank, Whately said that some generations have become accustomed to living on benefits, and warned that a future Conservative government would not tolerate prolonged unemployment without active job-seeking. She acknowledged the difficulties faced by young people, including mental health challenges and neurodiversity, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, but emphasized that such conditions should not be used as a justification to avoid work.

“There is a problem of young people who are coming out of school—or indeed university—and going straight on to benefits, with only minimal engagement from job centres,” Whately said. She noted that employers have expressed difficulties in hiring young people who have been out of education and on benefits for extended periods, describing it as a barrier to workforce participation.

Whately also highlighted reports that some university students are being advised to prepare for a life on benefits due to a challenging job market, a practice she said was detrimental to their future employment prospects.

The comments come amid findings from the Centre for Social Justice, which revealed that more than 700,000 university graduates aged 16 to 64 were out of work and claiming benefits in 2024. This number has risen by over 200,000 since 2019. Among these claimants, 400,000 receive Universal Credit, while nearly 240,000 report being off work due to sickness.

To address the issue, the Conservative Party recently proposed reforms requiring school leavers to undergo intensive work coaching rather than immediately claiming Universal Credit. This coaching is expected to include daily job centre visits, work experience placements, interview training, and job search support. After six months without finding or accepting work, claimants would be shifted to a new Subsistence Allowance, which pays 70 percent of the standard Universal Credit amount and is distributed on a card restricted from purchases of alcohol, tobacco, or gambling.

Whately warned that under the proposed system, young people who do not attend mandated support sessions or training programs would lose eligibility for benefits. “You’re going to be expected to turn up... and if they don’t turn up for the support sessions, [they] won’t get benefits. It’s that simple,” she said.

She argued the reforms are necessary to ensure fairness for taxpayers and to reinforce that welfare should serve as a safety net rather than a long-term lifestyle choice, stressing that work must always be financially rewarding and valued as a contribution to society.