Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson repeatedly confronted over coalition cuts during youth centre visit

'You built your career on the backs of a lost generation of young people who didn’t have places like this'

Chris Baynes
Thursday 05 December 2019 00:48 GMT
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Jo Swinson confronted over coalition cuts at London youth centre

Jo Swinson was twice confronted over her role in the coalition government during an election campaign trip to a youth centre in south London.

The Liberal Democrat leader was accused of building her political career “on the backs of a lost generation of young people” as she visited Knights Youth Centre in Streatham on Wednesday.

The party’s campaign bus was also targeted by Extinction Rebellion protesters dressed as bees who glued themselves to the vehicle as activists waited for Ms Swinson’s arrival.

Speaking later inside the centre, the Lib Dem leader outlined her party’s proposal to invest £500m on youth services.

She was challenged by youth worker Benny Hunter, 26, who runs a project for young asylum-seekers and refugees at the centre.

“We have seen massive cuts to children’s services in the UK,” he said. “We’ve also had hundreds of youth centres close under the coalition government that you were a part of … What is it that you’ve got to say about that?”

In an exchange filmed and posted on Twitter, Ms Swinson replied: “I certainly didn’t go into politics to make cuts … but there was clearly a financial crisis that was very difficult to respond to.

“We didn’t get to do all the things we wanted to do because we were a coalition government. I think there’s absolutely a recognition from that experience and learning from that experience of the extra investment that needs to go in.”

The Lib Dem leader was confronted by another man after leaving the centre. In footage recorded by an ITN film crew, he said: “There’s a whole generation that’s been lost because of your policies, and you wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for your role in that government.

“You built your career on the backs of a lost generation of young people who didn’t have places like this. So for you to have the temerity to come to a youth club and to pretend that you care about young people is frustrating, very frustrating indeed.”

Spending on youth services in England has fallen by nearly 70 per cent since 2010, when the Lib Dems entered into a coalition government as junior partner with the Conservatives. Between 500 and 1,000 Sure Start children's centres have closed in the past decade.

Mr Hunter, who runs a weekly youth club for unaccompanied asylum-seeking childen from the Horn of Africa, told The Independent: "The reason I wanted to speak about was they've all been impacted by cuts to children's services.

"So many of the issues we see on a day-to-day basis are not being dealt with appropriately by social workers because social work is overburdened and underfunded, so I felt the need to talk about what was happening."

He added Ms Swinson's visit to the centre "was very stage-managed".

"None of the people who were there were people who attend the youth centre. They were all shipped in from school," Mr Hunter said.

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