Andy Burnham admits Gen Z have it harder than older generations and politicians need to 'wake up'

Newly minted Prime Minister Andy Burnham has weighed in on the age old debate around ‘which generation has it hardest’, admitting that Gen Z have it harder than Boomers. Despite making this judgement though he did actually point out some ways in which life has actually become much easier for Gen Z than when he was growing up.

Burnham spoke out in a new episode of LADbible’s ‘Agree to Disagree’ where he was surrounded by Gen Zer’s and pressed on topics such as VAR, Oasis, social care, and the north-south debate.

Not everything was as light-hearted as this though as the Makerfield MP also the need for men to be more open about their mental health in light of his emotional comments about his dad’s death.

In addition to this he made a similarly emotional admission regarding the safety of women and girls, opening up about a conversation he had with his two daughters and son after the tragic death of Sarah Everard.

The Prime Minister recently spoke out about the death of his dad and said that men need to speak out about their mental health

Burnham spoke about his father dying in the new episode of Agree to Disagree (LADbible)

Burnham’s father Roy died aged 86 earlier this year after living with Alzheimers.

The politician took time off to attend to his family and cried on stage at Labour Party Conference when discussing his death.

Discussing how he lost his dad recently in the video Burnham said: “I decided to talk about it because I think it's important that people understand.

“It's a powerful emotion it unlocks, but you may as well then use it for something.”

He added that, as life is ‘more pressure on your life’ for young people, mental health is more complex.

He added: “I think you do then have to talk more about how you're feeling. Otherwise, I think we're going to be in a bad place, aren't we? Particularly with men's mental health.

“It's rising amongst women as well. So, it's not just men, but it's a massive issue.”

Burnham said that life is harder now for Gen Z than Boomers, but offered a serious caveat

Burnham did question whether his Gen Z counterpart had a paper round, but admitted that they had it worse (LADbible)

In the debate of who has had it hardest between Gen Z and Boomers if you ask anyone on Facebook it’s Boomers by a country mile, but according to Burnham it’s the younger generation who have had a tougher time.

He agreed but was hesitant to ‘strongly agree’, asking if his Gen Z interviewer had ever had a paper round, something that he did as a child.

He did later add however: “It's hard to compare actually. I think it's a very different thing. And what I would say is I don't think politicians have woken up to your reality.

When told that Gen Z has ‘a lot going on’ he explained: “Yeah, a lot going on and I just don't think we've got the policies.

“There's the housing things. There's education not pointing you in the right direction.

“But then all the complexity that comes with the online world and the job market and anyway.”

Burnham admitted that he had a conversation with his kids after Sarah Everard died in ‘appalling circumstances’

Burnham admitted to having tough conversations with his children about the rising risk to women and young girls (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

In response to the statement ‘it is increasingly unsafe to be a woman in the UK’ Burnham strongly agreed, saying: “I think it has got worse for your generation.

“So my daughter, I've got two daughters and a son, but two daughters are broadly in your age group [of Gen Z].

“I remember when Sarah Everard was killed in appalling circumstances, I had a conversation with my daughters that I hadn't really had before about those type of things.

He added that whilst young women are often told how to alter their behaviour he came to a realisation, saying: “I remember sitting there thinking, I'm a mayor of Greater Manchester, and to me, I've got to turn this conversation around to men, lads, and boys because they're creating the problem here… yet we're trying to put it all on women to change what they do.”

He added that a big focus has to be on education, explaining it’s ‘making sure men, lads, and boys understand how their behaviour can make somebody else feel’.

He finally added that there’s ‘a whole sea change that's needed’ before explaining: “My daughters have got my head in the right place on this one.”