The UK town with more jobless Brits than anywhere else

Central Grimsby had the dubious honor of being named the UK’s worklessness capital after it emerged that over half of its adult population was claiming . Move further into the Lincolnshire metropolis and the picture becomes even murkier, however – with the town’s East Marsh and Port ward also boasting the highest rate of youth unemployment in the country. plans to reform the UK’s welfare system have put the topic of eligbility firmly back in the news of late, and Grimsby residents have pointed the finger of blame firmly at young scroungers of the state who they say are bringing the local to its knees.

“The youngsters these days are getting paid for doing nothing and that is having a really negative effect – on them and the area,” Alfred Eckersley, 67, said. His grown-up children own homes and hold down jobs nearby, he said, but a new generation has refused to follow such well-trod paths. “They have no drive, no ambition – they should be made to work or have their money cut,” he told .

East Marsh had the highest number of 16 to 24-year-olds not in work, education or training across Britain between October and December last year, according to data from the Office for National Statistics – with one in three classed as economically inactive.

Labour has suggested that the welfare system is too lax and has been taken advantage of for too long by those unwilling to contribute to society through employment. But proposals to target people on long-term sickness and disability benefits are missing the real crux of the issue, locals in East Marsh said.

Lynn Darby, 47, who has been out of work for 20 years following a major stroke, told The Telegraph: “I used to work in community care and I absolutely loved it, but doctors have told me I’ll never be able to hold down a job again. So why should I be penalised? The government should be axing young people’s benefits to teach them they can’t expect a free ride from taxpayers.”

Sir hasn’t minced his words in pledging to tackle the UK’s “worst of all worlds” welfare system and trailed ways of doing so include controversial changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) eligibility and a reform of the Work Capability Assessment, which judges whether someone is capable of entering the workplace.

The proposals have faced backlash on the Labour backbenches, however, and some residents in Grimsby vouch for a more on-the-ground approach that examines the context of the worklessness crisis. Places like East Marsh seem to indicate the impact of a dwindling sense of community and the deindustrialisation of Grimsby’s once-booming fishing industry on the ambition of its young locals.

“These kids should be enrolled in community work schemes,” Deborah, 67, who voted for Reform UK in the general election in a bid for change. “It will give them a taste of hard work, end the something-or-nothing attitude – and if they were made to go out and clean up this area they’ve destroyed, that would be a welcome start.”