AS a parent, there is nothing quite like the relief of seeing your children transition into adulthood with secure employment.

I am incredibly fortunate that my three sons are currently in work. Yet, their journeys have been far from easy. One is navigating the precarious world of temporary contracts, and all three had faced months of exhausting, soul-destroying job hunts with sending countless applications and competing against an overwhelming sea of applicants for a single vacancy.

Watching them struggle made me realise just how high the barriers have become for young job seekers today.

A conversation with my local pub landlord recently brought the systemic nature of this crisis into sharp focus. His situation is a stark example of how small business owners are being squeezed by forces entirely beyond their control.

He spoke candidly about how his operational costs are skyrocketing. He is forced to keep his food and drink prices low just to attract customers who are themselves grappling with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. He told me he routinely has to turn eager young people away simply because he cannot afford to employ them.

The combined financial effect of Employers’ National Insurance hikes alongside that of the rising National Minimum Wage has made taking on an untrained worker an impossible financial risk. To survive, the landlord simply keeps a small team and fills in gaps with family members to keep the doors open.

This local reality mirrors a devastating national trend. Recent economic rule changes have significantly increased the real-term cost of hiring an 18 to 20-year-old. In consumer-facing industries like hospitality and retail (the historical lifelines for youth employment) staff costs are the largest controllable expense.

When governments push these costs too high, small independent businesses do not absorb the blow – instead they shrink and the number of young people Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET) surges.

While the government defends its policies by offering complex, bureaucratic grant schemes to offset costs, small business owners on the ground do not have the time to navigate state red tape just to pay next month’s bills. They need immediate, practical relief.

This is why the approach championed by the Liberal Democrats is gaining such vital traction among community businesses. By actively campaigning to scrap this unfair "jobs tax" specifically for small, local high street employers, the Liberal Democrats offer a rare glimmer of economic sanity.

Their focus on reducing the tax burden on independent venues allows community pubs to do what they do best: invest in people.

First jobs are where our children learn basic accountability, teamwork and resilience. By pricing entry-level roles out of existence, we are removing the bottom rung of the career ladder.

If we want to save a generation from economic detachment, we must stop penalising the local businesses that give them a chance. Supporting common-sense tax relief for our high streets is no longer just a political choice – it is a necessity for our children's future.