Alan Scrimger
For thirty years, the political centre designed pensions, housing, education, taxation and an era of cheap debt to benefit their generation at the expense of a generation left behind alongside future generations. They have created the unlucky generation.
The state pension costs £155bn a year. Public sector pensions cost a further £105 billion. Unfunded pension liabilities stand at £1.3 trillion and sit off the national balance sheet. Housing costs have risen disproportionally relative to earnings. Student debt is projected to reach £500bn, with potential debt write-downs of more than £200 billion by 2040.
If you were left behind by deindustrialisation or born after 1990 this website and book are for you. The UK government has spent more money than it has generated every year since 2003. It has borrowed the balance of over £2 trillion over this period and the bill is due — and it is addressed to you.
Total government debt sits today at over £3 trillion, while debt/GDP is 94%. The State Pension costs >£150 billion pa, Public Sector Pensions cost >£100 billion pa and Student Loans are expected to reach >£500 billion by 2040, with write-offs of over 40%. On an accrued-to-date basis these add unfunded liabilities of between £5 to £6 trillion to future generations. Debt interest is over £110 billion per annum and is paid for from borrowing — an unsustainable burden for future taxpayers, with funds that should be spent on public services.
The first book, due out in Q4 2026, is an honest view of the state of UK public finances and will make arguments that may make you feel uncomfortable. I want to prompt debate but ask that you engage with what is written and not the label you have already decided fits. An Australian version will follow in 2027.
I was born in Scotland and have lived away from my home for 35 years, latterly as an immigrant in Singapore and now in Australia, where we have our family home. I am married with three teenage children and two working cocker spaniels. I had a free university education that led to a 25-year career in financial services. A diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease in 2021 saw a change in career and a focus on living for now. I have found a passion for writing, and with the encouragement of my family have written this book.
Five themed panels drawing on ONS, OBR, WGA 2023-24, HMRC, HM Treasury, and the Student Loans Company. Select a theme in the sidebar to explore the evidence behind the book's arguments.
A podcast series exploring the arguments of The Unlucky Generation — each episode taking one chapter's thesis and making it accessible, sharp, and unignorable.
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A data-led examination of how pensions, housing, and public debt were systematically redesigned to benefit the lucky generation while assigning the costs to future generations — and what a genuinely honest settlement would look like.
With tables, interactive data companion, and full source citations from ONS, OBR, WGA (2023/24), HMRC, and the Student Loans Company.