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Jilted Generation: How Britain Has Bankrupted Its Youth
Why are so many adult children living still living with mum and dad? Why do young people seem so disinterested in politics? And what are the hidden threats to Britain’s long-term prosperity lurking in the next few decades?
First published in 2010, Ed Howker and Shiv Mailk’s Jilted Generation answers fundamental questions about the society you thought you knew. It identified, for the first time, the perilous position of Britain’s young adults and, with a title brandished by everyone from Ed Miliband to student protesters, the book’s thesis has formed a controversial but essential part of Britain’s political debate.
With significant additional material, this edition updates the argument and explains the real effects of austerity policies and the recession. And, crucially, it explains what must be done to protect a vital and underestimated national asset – Britain’s newest adults.
First published in 2010, Ed Howker and Shiv Mailk’s Jilted Generation answers fundamental questions about the society you thought you knew. It identified, for the first time, the perilous position of Britain’s young adults and, with a title brandished by everyone from Ed Miliband to student protesters, the book’s thesis has formed a controversial but essential part of Britain’s political debate.
With significant additional material, this edition updates the argument and explains the real effects of austerity policies and the recession. And, crucially, it explains what must be done to protect a vital and underestimated national asset – Britain’s newest adults.
304 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 22, 2013
Not a happy or comfortable read in any way, this is however one of those books that seeks to define and explain the current social and ecomomic situation facing modern Britain; and as such it is a must read for anyone with an interest in the world around them. The author makes extensive use of both anecdotal and statistical evidence to support the premise that the generation born from 1979 onwards has (and will continue to have) a much harder deal than their parents or grandparents. Disturbing and yet one cannot help but feel that this book contains a good deal of truth.
September 16, 2013
Brilliant and informative. Very impassioned book about our economy and how we have arrived at where we are. I found it incredibly interesting, albeit infuriating at times! But it certainly opened my eyes. Essential reading for my generation.
November 17, 2011
Jilted Generation is a tirade of fury... Ed Howker and Shiv Malik stake out their complaint with a waspishness which comes from personal experience - the struggle to find somewhere to live in London, and to find a secure job...the evidence of pokey overpriced housing and endless unpaid internships piles up convincingly
--Madeleine Bunting, Guardian
There's a new and noisy book just out which you must read to discover why the young and the old are shouting at each other over the supper table in a way I've not heard since those great divides over drugs'n'rock'n'roll or even the Iraq invasion. --Margareta Pagano, Independent
Howker and Malik extend their analysis beyond an it's-not-fair tantrum to knit together a taut and analytically rigorous narrative of 25 years of political myopia and mismanagement, outlining a series of gross policy errors that have disproportionately benefited the old at the expense of the young. These mistakes are likely to loom large over the UK for decades --Miles Johnson, Spectator
Jilted Generation...brilliantly analyses the problems faced by today's generation of young adults --Joyce MacMillan, Scotsman
A heady cocktail...that's enough to make anyone's blood boil. At times the writers become true polemicists... a compelling narrative that explains exactly how serial ministers' focus on individuals as "self-interested and motive purely by money" has influenced our politics --Alex Stevenson, Politics.co.uk
Provocative
--Robert Colvile, Telegraph
Following those books a fourth has just come out. Only last week we had the launch of an excellent book, The Jilted Generation: How Britain Has Bankrupted Its Youth by Ed Howker and Shiv Malik. They mount an argument very similar to mine with powerful evidence of the raw deal for young people in the jobs market, in housing, and in pensions and savings. --David Willetts, in a speech to the Policy Exchange
Ed Howker and Shiv Malik have written a critique of capitalism that is as powerful and provocative as anything written by Marx and Engels. --Tribune, Dec 2010
The book is hard to argue with. --Bright Green, August 2010
`You must read it to discover why the young and the old are shouting at each other over the supper table in a way I've not heard since those great divides over drugs'n'rock'n'roll or even the Iraq invasion.' --The Independent on Sunday
`Howker and Malik knit together a taut and analytically rigorous narrative of 25 years of political myopia and mismanagement, outlining a series of gross policy errors that have disproportionately benefited the old at the expense of the young. These mistakes are likely to loom large over the UK for decades' --The Spectator
`What the authors eloquently trace is the consequences of a breathtakingly foolhardy thirty-year experiment in dismantling the state and individualising responsibility that has led straight to the debt crisis we face today. We should applaud their forensic skill in exposing the rarely discussed assumptions that have led us who ere are, and in setting out the consequences in concrete terms' --The Oldie
`Jilted Generation brilliantly analyses the problems faced by today's generation of young adults' --The Scotsman
`An excellent analysis of the hardship and inequity faced by today's generation of young people'
--Morning Star
Born after September 1979? Struggling to find a decent job, even though you're a graduate? Can't afford to buy or even rent a house? No prospects? Welcome to the jilted generation. Things go wrong in society all the time, but rarely do they go wrong for an entire generation. Drawing on their own startling new research and writing with an irresistible polemical energy, twenty-something journalists Ed Howker and Shiv Malik argue that, in stark contrast to their parents' generation, millions of young Britons today face the most uncertain future since the early 1930s. Radical, angry and passionate, Jilted Generation takes a closer look at who's to blame for locking out Britain's youth - and leaving our country not just broken but broke.
--Madeleine Bunting, Guardian
There's a new and noisy book just out which you must read to discover why the young and the old are shouting at each other over the supper table in a way I've not heard since those great divides over drugs'n'rock'n'roll or even the Iraq invasion. --Margareta Pagano, Independent
Howker and Malik extend their analysis beyond an it's-not-fair tantrum to knit together a taut and analytically rigorous narrative of 25 years of political myopia and mismanagement, outlining a series of gross policy errors that have disproportionately benefited the old at the expense of the young. These mistakes are likely to loom large over the UK for decades --Miles Johnson, Spectator
Jilted Generation...brilliantly analyses the problems faced by today's generation of young adults --Joyce MacMillan, Scotsman
A heady cocktail...that's enough to make anyone's blood boil. At times the writers become true polemicists... a compelling narrative that explains exactly how serial ministers' focus on individuals as "self-interested and motive purely by money" has influenced our politics --Alex Stevenson, Politics.co.uk
Provocative
--Robert Colvile, Telegraph
Following those books a fourth has just come out. Only last week we had the launch of an excellent book, The Jilted Generation: How Britain Has Bankrupted Its Youth by Ed Howker and Shiv Malik. They mount an argument very similar to mine with powerful evidence of the raw deal for young people in the jobs market, in housing, and in pensions and savings. --David Willetts, in a speech to the Policy Exchange
Ed Howker and Shiv Malik have written a critique of capitalism that is as powerful and provocative as anything written by Marx and Engels. --Tribune, Dec 2010
The book is hard to argue with. --Bright Green, August 2010
`You must read it to discover why the young and the old are shouting at each other over the supper table in a way I've not heard since those great divides over drugs'n'rock'n'roll or even the Iraq invasion.' --The Independent on Sunday
`Howker and Malik knit together a taut and analytically rigorous narrative of 25 years of political myopia and mismanagement, outlining a series of gross policy errors that have disproportionately benefited the old at the expense of the young. These mistakes are likely to loom large over the UK for decades' --The Spectator
`What the authors eloquently trace is the consequences of a breathtakingly foolhardy thirty-year experiment in dismantling the state and individualising responsibility that has led straight to the debt crisis we face today. We should applaud their forensic skill in exposing the rarely discussed assumptions that have led us who ere are, and in setting out the consequences in concrete terms' --The Oldie
`Jilted Generation brilliantly analyses the problems faced by today's generation of young adults' --The Scotsman
`An excellent analysis of the hardship and inequity faced by today's generation of young people'
--Morning Star
Born after September 1979? Struggling to find a decent job, even though you're a graduate? Can't afford to buy or even rent a house? No prospects? Welcome to the jilted generation. Things go wrong in society all the time, but rarely do they go wrong for an entire generation. Drawing on their own startling new research and writing with an irresistible polemical energy, twenty-something journalists Ed Howker and Shiv Malik argue that, in stark contrast to their parents' generation, millions of young Britons today face the most uncertain future since the early 1930s. Radical, angry and passionate, Jilted Generation takes a closer look at who's to blame for locking out Britain's youth - and leaving our country not just broken but broke.
October 16, 2013
Shockingly straightforward !
However terrifying the facts this book states, it does it so elegantly you keep asking for more. One has but to admire the research work for this oeuvre. Whether you're a member of the "jilted generation" or a "baby boomer" you wouldn't help but ,at least, consider the obvious; and the best part ? The authors seem not to have rested their case ( hopefully ! ).
On the other hand, to offer some counter balance, the anti-thesis might have been further established and elaborated so as to offer even more power to the book.
In a nutshell, I wouldn't be surprised to see people holding up copies of this book in manifestations, while Ed Howker & Shiv Malik give people in charge the "i told you so" look.
However terrifying the facts this book states, it does it so elegantly you keep asking for more. One has but to admire the research work for this oeuvre. Whether you're a member of the "jilted generation" or a "baby boomer" you wouldn't help but ,at least, consider the obvious; and the best part ? The authors seem not to have rested their case ( hopefully ! ).
On the other hand, to offer some counter balance, the anti-thesis might have been further established and elaborated so as to offer even more power to the book.
In a nutshell, I wouldn't be surprised to see people holding up copies of this book in manifestations, while Ed Howker & Shiv Malik give people in charge the "i told you so" look.
August 20, 2011
This is a striking & interesting book. While I disagreed with some of their conclusions and attitudes (hence the 3 stars) most of it was very close to home and the whole book was passionately argued in a clear & accessible style. The first chapter, on housing, struck a particular chord and it's clear that whatever I think personally of their political stance, they know their stuff and have made lots of excellent points.
May 21, 2013
This should be required reading for the entire population!
March 1, 2017
There is much in this book to reflect upon, to lament and to regret. As group, virtually all countries in the West, following WWII, have embarked on a 'spending binge', in which we have seen living standards, lifestyles, services and benefits rise to a point that would be unrecognisable to our grandparents. In more recent times, from the 80's, we have indeed seen the growth of 'individualism' , 'consumerism' and a switch in culture from saving to borrowing. Governments, corporations and individuals have 'mortgaged' their futures, on 'cheap money'...on the 'never-never', as they have sought to 'spoil' or 'buy' their voters, shareholders, themselves and their children. This is seen in the enormous debts held by govt, the PFI schemes, and the incredible levels of personal debt held on mortgage, credit cards and consumer loans. The regrettable thing is that we seem not to have learned the lessons of the 'Great Recession' of 2008/09....a little like passing a 'bad road traffic accident', we 'slowed down' for a few miles, and have now gone back to our normal driving, ignoring the speed limits and hazards!!
Where I disagree with the book and offer criticism, is the way that the authors demonise and blame 'their parents' for all the 'ills' and 'problems'. It seems symptomatic of this generation to find someone to blame, accuse and be responsible, other than ourselves', which is unreasonable, inaccurate and unhealthy. Secondly it is damaging and irresponsible to indulge in the 'poor me, poor me' rhetoric and play the role of victim. This so called 'jilted generation' did not just land on this planet at the age of 20, they too have enjoyed the fruits of the 'boom times' and the overindulgence and bingeing (and will enjoy the personal inheritances in the future). All generations of today, including the 'J-G's' are enjoying better health, medicine, education, living standards, material benefits, lifestyles, travel, freedoms, and release from fear of wars and dictatorships than any generations before could have dreamed of. Indeed the authors make Britain out to be so bad, that the young should leave and desert it, but offer up only 2 countries (Norway and Sweden) which may be better, They also hardly acknowledge that 98% of the worlds population would virtually 'die' to have the opportunities and situation available in the UK. (hence the clamour to move to the UK from all over the EU and outside)
A significant and perpetual argument revolves around the costs of further education, however they fail to recognise that less than 3% of students actually went to 'free' University 40 years ago, most did not take A levels and the majority left at 16. They are also wrong to say that there are 'no jobs', at a time when we have the lowest unemployment and the highest levels of employment in our history.
Interestingly this 'J-G' seem to want to repeat the same mistakes as their predecessors - more spending and borrowing on 'free education', improved NHS, more infrastructure spending, greater benefits, investment in house building, but strangely with no austerity measures, no fiscal prudency, and no higher taxes. Indeed it is the curse of today....the government are expected to take all responsibility for jobs, education, health, benefits, pensions, etc etc but not allowed to increase taxes. People just forget that the government has no money, it is our money, and if we don't 'pay in' we cannot get 'pay out's...hence the irresponsible behaviour of populist governments of all hues clinging onto power, by over indulging a naïve and spoilt electorate. Even today 90% of voters want a better funded NHS, but less than 40% are prepared to pay any additional taxation.
The message of the book should be.....'we are all responsible' for this mess, and the only way out of it is if 'everyone' is prepared to 'take responsibility' and 'pull together'. It should also contain plausible and realistic solutions to 'get behind'. Sadly it does not and that is why it just seems like a generational 'whinge'.
Finally it fails to acknowledge the overwhelming majority young people who are striving, driving and getting on with it. They are taking responsibility and making a success of their lives through hard work and endeavour - just as the authors themselves are doing (though they may not admit to it)
Where I disagree with the book and offer criticism, is the way that the authors demonise and blame 'their parents' for all the 'ills' and 'problems'. It seems symptomatic of this generation to find someone to blame, accuse and be responsible, other than ourselves', which is unreasonable, inaccurate and unhealthy. Secondly it is damaging and irresponsible to indulge in the 'poor me, poor me' rhetoric and play the role of victim. This so called 'jilted generation' did not just land on this planet at the age of 20, they too have enjoyed the fruits of the 'boom times' and the overindulgence and bingeing (and will enjoy the personal inheritances in the future). All generations of today, including the 'J-G's' are enjoying better health, medicine, education, living standards, material benefits, lifestyles, travel, freedoms, and release from fear of wars and dictatorships than any generations before could have dreamed of. Indeed the authors make Britain out to be so bad, that the young should leave and desert it, but offer up only 2 countries (Norway and Sweden) which may be better, They also hardly acknowledge that 98% of the worlds population would virtually 'die' to have the opportunities and situation available in the UK. (hence the clamour to move to the UK from all over the EU and outside)
A significant and perpetual argument revolves around the costs of further education, however they fail to recognise that less than 3% of students actually went to 'free' University 40 years ago, most did not take A levels and the majority left at 16. They are also wrong to say that there are 'no jobs', at a time when we have the lowest unemployment and the highest levels of employment in our history.
Interestingly this 'J-G' seem to want to repeat the same mistakes as their predecessors - more spending and borrowing on 'free education', improved NHS, more infrastructure spending, greater benefits, investment in house building, but strangely with no austerity measures, no fiscal prudency, and no higher taxes. Indeed it is the curse of today....the government are expected to take all responsibility for jobs, education, health, benefits, pensions, etc etc but not allowed to increase taxes. People just forget that the government has no money, it is our money, and if we don't 'pay in' we cannot get 'pay out's...hence the irresponsible behaviour of populist governments of all hues clinging onto power, by over indulging a naïve and spoilt electorate. Even today 90% of voters want a better funded NHS, but less than 40% are prepared to pay any additional taxation.
The message of the book should be.....'we are all responsible' for this mess, and the only way out of it is if 'everyone' is prepared to 'take responsibility' and 'pull together'. It should also contain plausible and realistic solutions to 'get behind'. Sadly it does not and that is why it just seems like a generational 'whinge'.
Finally it fails to acknowledge the overwhelming majority young people who are striving, driving and getting on with it. They are taking responsibility and making a success of their lives through hard work and endeavour - just as the authors themselves are doing (though they may not admit to it)
June 30, 2017
We have an outcome none of us want, all of us are responsible for and none of us are doing anything about. I read Shiv Malik's Revenge of the Millennials in this months Prospect magazine. I hear so many simple solutions to the problems of youth and young unemployment I decided to get more data. The data in the book is comprehensive, compelling and frightening. It is clear our society has a major problem that is getting worse and also that our democratic process trying to sell more short termism to get elected will lead us to eventual crisis. The book is balanced in its criticisms with equal blame for Labour and Tory Governments. I am pessimistic that our democratic processes will find ways of addressing the problem now so the future can be better. It seems anyone who might want to do the right thing for the long term would never get elected. The shift to benefit and obligation proposed by Shiv sounds radical in today's world until we realise it is the world the baby boomer generation grew up in. I am one of them so I lived it. Now I understand the data and the issue more clearly I don't see any of our political leaders addressing the problems in any way. Ideas like the Prince's Trust seeking to provide mentoring and support to young people are good examples of ways in which people can help youngsters. It is small and something much bigger is required. I fear most will look the other way or believe there is a simple one line solution.
September 28, 2023
This book paints a picture of events from post-war Britain leading to the state of Britain and it's politics in 2010. Extrapolate it over the following 13 years and you can easily see how Britain has ended up where it is today (2023). Excellently written, engaging and still relevant, I highly recommend this book.
August 7, 2019
A stunning review of Britain that keeps you thinking
Being a part of generation after "jiltered generation", even not being from Britain, it does reflects on what our society is.
Being a part of generation after "jiltered generation", even not being from Britain, it does reflects on what our society is.
September 6, 2019
I don't know why I read this really. It just made me incredibly angry and then deflated and then even more angry. Short, succinct, well-written and pretty convincingly argued.
January 31, 2016
A big shame - this book managed the unusual feat of turning me against the arguments it was making, despite me being broadly in agreement of the central statement of the book at the outset.
The book aims to highlight how political and economic factors in the UK have disadvantaged a whole generation of young people. I'm only a year younger than the cut-off point (people born in 1979 and after) the authors choose to delineate their jilted generation with, but I can't say I feel myself or people a little younger than me have suffered in the way the authors state, and I also wasn't convinced by the arguments in the book.
In some senses it is well-written, but in the majority it is not. Individual cases are presented as illustrative when they are not, statistic are cherry-picked and misused, and there are frequent attempts to mislead the reader. This isn't surprising, as the writers are seeking to make a point, but I felt like they were trying to cheat me and other readers.
Essentially, the problem is that stats and statements are used to contrast the socioeconomic and political state of the UK and how this has led to people (now) under 35 not having the same privileges as their parents. There are some notable and worrying truths in there, but too much of this essentially equates "This generation doesn't have the same opportunities in certain areas as their parents" as meaning 'disadvantage' as opposed to just 'difference'. Alas a lot of the true and interesting stuff is lost within contradictory statements about successive governments which basically criticise their lack of perfect foresight, their requirement to appeal to voters and citizens other than the youngest, and not having an endless pot of money which can be spent benefitting everyone without anyone being disadvantaged. At the end of this, there is a short 'conclusions' section, which doesn't particularly convince with solutions to the numerous complaints raised.
Had it been a more general discussion of various British socioeconomic and political issues, it might've worked better (though I acknowledge that this wasn't the point of the book) but to me it ended up being a slightly whiny "Look at this graph.. young people can't afford to buy their own house and there are too many graduates in the job market, and the pensions thing doesn't seem to have been managed well - IT'S NOT FAIRRRRRR!!!" sort of thing.
The book aims to highlight how political and economic factors in the UK have disadvantaged a whole generation of young people. I'm only a year younger than the cut-off point (people born in 1979 and after) the authors choose to delineate their jilted generation with, but I can't say I feel myself or people a little younger than me have suffered in the way the authors state, and I also wasn't convinced by the arguments in the book.
In some senses it is well-written, but in the majority it is not. Individual cases are presented as illustrative when they are not, statistic are cherry-picked and misused, and there are frequent attempts to mislead the reader. This isn't surprising, as the writers are seeking to make a point, but I felt like they were trying to cheat me and other readers.
Essentially, the problem is that stats and statements are used to contrast the socioeconomic and political state of the UK and how this has led to people (now) under 35 not having the same privileges as their parents. There are some notable and worrying truths in there, but too much of this essentially equates "This generation doesn't have the same opportunities in certain areas as their parents" as meaning 'disadvantage' as opposed to just 'difference'. Alas a lot of the true and interesting stuff is lost within contradictory statements about successive governments which basically criticise their lack of perfect foresight, their requirement to appeal to voters and citizens other than the youngest, and not having an endless pot of money which can be spent benefitting everyone without anyone being disadvantaged. At the end of this, there is a short 'conclusions' section, which doesn't particularly convince with solutions to the numerous complaints raised.
Had it been a more general discussion of various British socioeconomic and political issues, it might've worked better (though I acknowledge that this wasn't the point of the book) but to me it ended up being a slightly whiny "Look at this graph.. young people can't afford to buy their own house and there are too many graduates in the job market, and the pensions thing doesn't seem to have been managed well - IT'S NOT FAIRRRRRR!!!" sort of thing.
January 4, 2018
As an unemployed, graduate millennial, this hits pretty hard.
February 18, 2016
A very sobering and depressing read, which is not to say that it was not informative and interesting. It's just to say that reading it depressed me
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews