Ed Miliband visited the Platform Centre in Holloway as new figures released today showed a sharp rise in the number of young people out of work.

With the government’s cuts biting harder and harder, more than 1700 young people in Islington are now not in employment, education or training.

Ed Miliband talked to young people at the centre and heard about their concerns for their future.

The Labour leader said: “Long-term youth unemployment is now double what it was a year ago… the government should be providing real hope to young people.”

Emily accompanied Ed on the visit. She said: “It was particularly tragic talking to a couple of girls who had been in care and told all sorts of stats about how children from care are more likely to end up in prison, more likely to be murdered.”

“All they’d heard was negative, but they were determined to build a positive life for themselves.”