Young people need to stop moaning and knuckle down! They have plenty to offer if they crack on with work, says Paul Bristow MP

Company payroll came from my back pocket. If the company did not make a profit, my mortgage was not paid. I kept money in the bank so if we lost all our clients, I could still pay my staff for a whole year.

I was under the false impression that the young people who worked for me thought I was fun but fair. I ran a tight ship but made sure that everyone was rewarded. But apparently the word in that last sentence most agreed with when describing my approach was "tight".

I used to say that the time to work hard is when you’re young. The older you get, the more responsibilities you accumulate. A partner, children, and hopefully a mortgage to pay.

Being present at work when you’re young is like a rite of passage. With drinks after work you meet clients, pick up all sorts from coworkers and you learn the things you can’t learn at university or in a textbook about surviving in the place of work.

This is why Covid and hybrid working has been so awful for many young people. It is much easier for someone like me at 45 years of age with a nice home and children to enjoy.

I understand the toxicity and irony of a middle aged man telling young people they should work hard. But this is good for them and for Britain.

I understand it is not the easiest of times. Different generations have different challenges. The dream of homeownership for many in generation Z is not just difficult, it’s not just challenging, for many it’s impossible.

We have had the challenge of home working and Covid. Four young people working from their bedrooms or kitchen in a house share is not a nice experience.

Almost as worrying as Covid and unaffordable housing is voicing a prevailing trend that young people are downtrodden. We must ignore the temptation to infantilise young people.

In fact, young people today are the most intelligent and the most entrepreneurial generation ever. Concepts like side hustles and making money on website such as eBay is common place.

We have to unleash this entrepreneurial and inspiring generation. Embrace their talent and help them to set up businesses and take risks. Send them forth to make money and learn.

Unless we do this, we will be poorer, more reliant on the state and unhappier. They’ll be less money for pensions, public services and the things that make the world go round.

So, a few suggestions from middle aged Tory MP fighting a battle with his waist: How might we bridge the generation gap between Britons who sometimes feel they speak in different languages?

Firstly build lots of new homes. Small homes, big homes starter homes, council homes. Lots more places for people to live both in cities and in rural areas. If we don’t there will simply not be enough places to live healthy and happy lives. Not just for people coming into our country but also for our children and our grandchildren. Let’s just get on with it.

Secondly, let’s get back to work. Working from home suits people with big crunchy drives and lovely gardens. I couldn’t think of anything worse than having to work from home. Not just because I am a social animal and want to meet my colleagues and both work and play hard, but also because I want to be able to give younger generations the value of knowing my contacts and the people I have met.

I was only moderately successful in business because of all of the people that I worked with before me. This would never have happened if I was working from a bedroom.

Finally, let’s start understanding that generation Z are the people we need to encourage.

They are the generation who will pay our pensions, provide the jobs of the future and the people who will ensure that this country has future prosperity, health and wealth.

What does this look like? It means raising personal allowances and ending fiscal drag.

Business and entrepreneurship is something that should be admired respected and promoted. It does not look like a future where we question how much someone earns and look jealously on someone who has a six figure salary.

We want people to earn lots and lots of money and pay lots of tax. We want a future where Britain backs its young people but also Britain gets back to work.