Project Peter Pan
2024National World launched Project Peter Pan in March 2024 to give a voice to a “lost generation” unable to afford housing in the run-up to the general election.
The project aims to “give a voice to those in their 20s and 30s who have negotiated a pandemic, work hard and are ambitious, yet are lost.”
Titles collaborating in the project include the Lancashire Post, Sheffield Star, BristolWorld and DerbyWorld. Reporters across these titles have been meeting and listening to young people, discussing how they have delayed starting families, have moved back home in their 30s, feel reliant on the bank of mum and dad, live in substandard rental properties, losing career aspirations, have put off university and face the reality of never buying a home.
Nicola Adam, Editor in chief (north) at National World, said: “Project Peter Pan is putting aside any assumptions, generalisations, and unhelpful narratives about the generations of young adults who have had, and are having, a really hard time.
“They are the most informed as digital natives and often ambitious yet the reality of the day to day thanks to crippling costs is — unless they come from wealth — getting decent accommodation or on the property ladder remains a dream. This is just stage one of the campaign — listening — there is more to come and our National World titles intend to make a stand for the lost generations across the UK. Politicians should take heed of these crucial voices.”
Claire Lewis, editor of The Star in Sheffield, aid unless things change, the Steel City and others like it, risk losing a generation of young, aspirational young people, with so much to offer, if they are forced to move further afield to cheaper locations, just to get a foot on the housing ladder.
She said: “For Sheffield to face losing this generation because they can no longer afford to live here is something that cannot be allowed to happen.
“They are the future of our city, so for them to be priced out of the market is wrong. Sheffielders deserve to be able to live in their home city where they have grown up. And those who have moved here as students or for work and want to put down roots here should have that option too. We need to fight for this trapped generation and make housing more accessible because if we don’t do something now, it is only going to get worse.”
Paul Trainer, editor of Glasgow World, added: “Traditionally young people priced out of other cities have found a place in Glasgow but even here there are extraordinary pressures on the next generation of workers, particularly young creatives.
“The stifling of potential and lack of opportunities for young people to establish their career and enter the property market has reached a historic crisis point. Their concerns will shape the landscape of the next general election across cities in the UK.”
