The New Deal for Young People elicited much of the infectious optimism that accompanied New Labour's rise to power in the summer of 1997. And for good reason. Aimed at 18- to 24-year-olds claiming jobseeker's allowance for six months or longer (or less, in certain cases), it promised training, subsidised employment and voluntary work when the scheme was formally devised in July 1997.
The winning idea was that young people would gain not just a job, but long-term employability. Raising hopes further was a stupendous budget of 3 billion-plus over four years (courtesy of the windfall tax on utilities), with unmatched political prominence and a tide of goodwill accompanying the new government. Surely it could not fail.
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