The UK isn't the only country struggling now. Europe is in decline across the board. Growth is slowing, debt is rising, households feel poorer and people are getting angrier. It’s a similar story in the US, where Donald Trump rides the same wave of discontent.

Britain hasn’t escaped. Wages have barely shifted in 20 years. Growth has stalled, welfare spending is spiralling and so is the national debt.

Taxes are at a record high, and set to rise again when chancellor Rachel Reeves unveils her second Budget on November 26.

Yet she’s still on course to borrow another £150billion this year, with around two-thirds going on servicing the interest on our debt.

Keir Starmer’s poll ratings are collapsing, just like former Tory prime minister Rishi Sunak’s did before him.

Labour hasn’t got the answer to our problems. Instead, it’s made them worse. If the Budget lands badly, it could trigger a bond market revolt or a run on the pound.

It’s bleak enough, but behind today’s crises lurks a deeper problem that makes all of them harder to fix.

Demographics are destiny, they say. If so, we’re in deep trouble. Britain, like the rest of the West, is ageing fast while having fewer children.

In 2024, the UK’s fertility rate fell to just 1.41 children per woman, well below the replacement rate of 2.1. That leaves a shrinking pool of workers trying to support a swelling number of pensioners. It’s happening everywhere, even China. And no government has found the solution. Labour isn’t even trying.

The state pension isn’t funded by some mythical pot. Today’s retirees are paid out of today’s taxes, which piles the burden on younger workers.

Medical advances mean more of us reach our 80s and 90s, but unhealthy lifestyles see millions fall onto benefits in their 50s or early 60s, adding still more pressure.

That’s why we need young people working to work, thrive and contribute. Yet we now face a disastrous “unemployment epidemic”, with a record 1.1million under-30s on jobless benefits. And Reeves must take a huge share of the blame.

In last year’s Budget, she hiked employers’ national insurance by £25billion. In response, firms laid off workers, slashed hiring or simply went bust.

At least 175,000 jobs have already disappeared, with more to follow.

Reeves compounded the damage by lifting the minimum wage by an inflation-busting 6.7%. Employers faced a double hit, and it’s younger workers who’ve paid the price.

Her timing couldn’t have been worse, with artificial intelligence sweeping away whole categories of entry-level jobs.

At the same time, mental health problems are also forcing thousands of young people out of the workforce.

Employers worry about Gen Z’s work ethic and are wary of hiring them. Incredibly, Labour has chosen this moment to make them even more nervous. Its upcoming Employment Rights Bill will grant full legal rights to new staff from day one. If they never even make it to work, businesses will be stuck with them.

So they won't go anywhere near workers with a hint of prior mental health problems.

Britain desperately needs its younger generation in work. Instead, Reeves has locked them out of the jobs market at a pivotal time.

We will all pay for this, and far sooner than we think.