Young people in Beverley and Holderness are struggling to get their first proper job, and Graham is taking that fight straight to ministers.
After warning in the House of Commons that entry level roles are being squeezed, Graham is launching his First Jobs survey and petition to press for practical changes that reward work and back the businesses prepared to hire.
Local employers tell him they want to take on young staff. They need reliable people. But as the cost of employing a young person has increased in a combination of a minimum wage increase and the jobs tax rising, more and more young people are being overlooked.
Young people tell Graham they are being told to get experience before they can get a job. Without that first opportunity, they cannot get that vital first step. That is not a failure of young people. It is a failure of policy.
In Parliament, Graham argued that if national decisions disincentivise work and expansion, it is school leavers, apprentices and graduates who lose out. Beverley and Holderness cannot afford to weaken the link between effort and reward.
The First Jobs survey at www.grahamstuart.com/FirstJobs aims to gather real experiences from young people aged 16 to 24, as well as parents and employers. The evidence will be used to press ministers to remove barriers to hiring and strengthen real routes into work.
This campaign builds on Graham’s work to stand up for the economy of Beverley and Holderness in Parliament and with ministers.
He has fought for high streets, defended jobs at Salt End, secured banking hubs in Withernsea and Hedon, and backed businesses from pubs to soft play centres. Because without thriving businesses there are no jobs, and without jobs there is no strong local economy.
The long-standing MP has worked with sixth forms and schools, brought Google to Withernsea for a workshop and supported training schemes.
Graham said: “Young people here want to work. Businesses here want to hire. The problem is that the system is making that harder.
“I made clear in Parliament that when you weaken the incentive to employ, you weaken the opportunity for the next generation.
“We should be rewarding effort, backing enterprise and making it easier to take on young staff.
“I will not accept policies that make it harder for a young person to earn their first wage packet.”
Recent official figures show unemployment has risen to 5.2 per cent and hiring growth has stalled. Meanwhile the economy grew by just 0.1 per cent in the final quarter of 2025.
Young people, parents and employers can take part at: www.grahamstuart.com/FirstJobs
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