For a healthy, representative democracy, politicians must engage young people
First published in The Independent Online on 26th November
Brexit burnout is affecting us all in some shape or form. We all feel it — I know I certainly do.
But for the hundreds of thousands of 18-year-olds who’ll be eligible to vote for the first time in December’s general election it’s much more than that.
Since the EU referendum we’ve been in Brexit deadlock. That means for someone who’s just had their 18th birthday, for almost a fifth of their time on this planet, the entire political and news agenda has been consumed by a single issue — and one they had no say over.
A quick straw poll of first time voters showed that politics over recent years has left young people feeling worried and anxious about their futures and finding the idea of voting in the general election on 12 December pretty daunting.
Coming of age during a constitutional crisis could cause young people to feel disillusioned. Who can blame them? Over the last three-and-a-half years our politicians have hardly set a shining example of what engaging with mainstream politics can achieve.
Although it’s thought that 72 per cent of those aged 18–24 turned out to vote at the 2017 general election, I worry that constant exposure to an ever changing news cycle about seemingly nothing but the ‘B’ word could serve to switch them off from politics entirely.
When young people feel there is little or no possibility of a positive future, we see what I call a ‘poverty of hope’.
The youthquake of 2017 could be at risk of becoming little more than a tremor this time around unless the establishment political parties do more to engage young people and demonstrate that politics can work for them.
At Barnardo’s we see it every day through the children and young people we work with. It’s what happens when children grow up seeing their parents not in work or battling debt while working three jobs, when mental health issues and addiction are seen as normal and when it feels like joining a gang is the only way to help your mum pay the rent.
We desperately need to offer them tangible opportunities to engage in all sectors of society — including civic society — so they can build a positive future.
The old trope that young people do not engage in politics is outdated, and generations Y and Z are far from apathetic, but Westminster needs to do more to make them believe they have a voice.
Young people all around us are shaking off the labels and showing they care care deeply about issues like the environment.
Millions of children and young people around the world took to the streets in the past year in protests over climate change inaction, inspired by teenage activists like Greta Thunberg, Ridhima Pandey, Kaluki Paul Mutuku, Aditya Mukarji, Nina Gualinga, Autumn Peltier and Leah Namugerwa.
They’re a lot more politically astute than we often give them credit for. Polling by Barnardo’s earlier this year revealed young people worry about a range of ‘adult’ issues including climate change, Brexit and the economy.
And it’s these astute 16 and 17-year-olds — 1.5million of them — who will miss out on having their say on December 12.
At Barnardo’s we support the lowering of the voting age to 16 in Westminster elections to ensure greater representation of children and young people at a national level.
In Scotland 16-year-olds are already able to vote in elections for local councils and the Scottish Parliament, and Wales is now due to follow suit.
Surely it makes sense to give the next generation the tools they need to exercise their citizenship? Starting with local elections in England would be a good test case and allow young people to have a stake in their community.
When I talk to young people we support at Barnardo’s, top of their agendas are food banks, gang violence, mental health and staying safe online. And they want to know they have a secure future — from housing to education to jobs.
The results of this general election could set the political direction for the UK for decades to come so it’s vital that, if the main political parties are serious about making it about more than just Brexit, they all reach out to young people.
They’re the ones who will have to live longest with the outcome and who are best placed to speak up on issues that affect their younger peers.
This month sees the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which commits the UK and countries around the world to involving children in decisions affecting them, and acting in their best interests.
We’ve seen how young people are willing to take to the streets to protest about issues they care deeply about but to maintain a healthy, representative democracy we need to engage them in the political mainstream.
After all, it’s their future too.
