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Two million people have put off starting a family due to Tory austerity, a poll suggests.

A TUC survey of 1,500 workers aged 18 to 34 found 22% had delayed having kids as they simply “cannot afford it”, research found.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady told the Mirror the findings of the poll, carried out by YouGov, were “really distressing”.

She said: “That’s the personal price people are paying, and that doesn’t feel right.”

Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary Rebecca Long Bailey said: “Tory austerity has failed and this is yet more evidence it’s ruining lives. It’s heartbreaking.

“From low pay to sky-high childcare costs, this government isn’t on the side of working families.”

(Image: Handout)

The average age for women to become mums is now 28.8.

Ms O’Grady said: “The idea that it is all about young career women putting off having children until their 30s is nonsense. The work we’ve been doing on this is with young blue collar workers.

“It came across really strongly that they can’t even think about having a family. They want children but just cannot afford it.”

The TUC report also revealed the pay gap between over-30s and under-30s has grown from 14.5% in 1998 to 21.9% in 2017.

It means that younger workers get on average £2.81 an hour less than older colleagues.

The TUC found that, due to worry over lower pay, 41% of younger workers had put off buying a home or moving.

And a separate study by Post Office Money found first time buyers sacrifice four years of their social lives to save a deposit, which is now £51,500 on average.