The Young Are Fighting For What They Deserve!
The Government try to accommodate to the vast majority of the population but often the needs of young adults are overlooked. The right-wing government fail to see there is ageism within the demands met by the government. Inequalities that have developed from the past generations lack understanding. Many individuals would say that young people tend to disengage themselves from political matters (Keating, and Melis, 2017). They continue to label us negatively. They disregard the idea that it is not the fact that we do not want to engage but actually choose political agendas that take our issues into consideration (Sloam, and Ehsan, 2017:46). We continue to reject mainstream politics because no matter how much effort we put into communicating our needs, the right-wing government do not seem to acknowledge the issues that we bring forward (Marsh, O ́Toole, and Jones, 2006). Government organisations do not seem to care about the ideas the younger generation put forward and as a result individuals are more likely to be demotivated to engage in politics. The issue is not that the younger generation choose not to engage but questions what the government are doing in order to accommodate our needs.
Yes, this is a huge factor that plays a strong influence on our levels of political engagement. But that will not stop us. Individuals need to acknowledge that times have changed, and the youth are becoming more educated. They are more politically active.
Look at the 2017 General election…
The big break of disappointment. Yes, let us get into the discussion.
Data via Bate, A. et al (2017)
The labour party had agendas that met the needs of the working class, the young and ethnic minorities which is what the majority of the youth wanted. The labour party did not only try appealing to the demands of older generation, but used social media strategies to promote young people to get more involved (Savage, and Hacillo, 2017). Jeremy Corbin was a big attribute to the attraction of young voters. His ability to level with young people increased the turnout to 68.8% (Bate, et al 2017). The proposal to reduce University tuition fees also motivated us to get involved (Savage, and Hacillo, 2017). It felt as though we were finally being heard in the political realm. The 2017 general election turnout evidently shows that the label society once held against us is out-dated.
Data via Barford, V. (2017)
The youths political presence continues to be misinterpreted when shown through official statistics. The data shows that only 11% of the votes were contributed from young voters aged 18-24 compared to nearly a quarter of votes from 65+ citizens. There are many factors that influenced these results. The minorities in the young community sometimes cannot vote or are not educated and comfortable enough when voting (Barford, V. (2017). The statistics can dim the hopes of young people thinking to make a change when they vote. These statistics also does not consider other ways in which the young community politically engage.
Young lovers of politics contribute through demonstrations, opening political debates as well as signing petitions that can be forwarded to the Government for review. Our social media platforms are an open space for us to bring out political ideas and opinions together without feeling discriminated against (Keating & Melis, 2017). Jeremy Corbin knew this and used this to his advantages by promoting his non-mainstream political views online, by using grime artists such as JME to appeal to the younger audience which became viral on social media outlets (Savage, M., and Hacillo, A.,2017).
Data via Corbin, J. (2017) Twitter Post
Willing to understand the younger generation, he was able to build a manifesto which struck new excitement in the young communities. The only downfall was though the turnout for young voters increased, the labour party did not prevail. In recent times the voters between the ages of 18-24 has decreased from 54% to 47% in the 2019 general election.
Data Via Gideon Skinner, G., and Mortimore, R. (2017) and (2019)
However, the conservatives did not win by a huge margin which shows that the younger generation still have a lot of pull. The younger generation play a significant role in politics, in order for the turnout to increase the older generation need to be willing to listen. This can be done by opening up debates between the old and young, putting these discussions not on only on tv but also online for both to see. Making active citizenship a compulsory subject within the education system so young individuals feel entitled to have a political view and be more determined to engage.
But What Happens To Politics If Young People Don’t Vote?
Having the mindset to not vote could potentially be passed down throughout generations and as a result we would just leave all matters into the hands of the government.
Is that really what we want?
Bibliography
Barford, V. (2017) Election 2017: If more young people actually voted, would it change everything?. Available at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2017-39965925 (Accessed 19th February 2021)
Bate, A., Baker, C., Uberoi, E., Audickas, L., Dempsey, N., Hawkins, O., Cracknell, R., McInnes, R., Rutherford, T. and Apostolova, V. (2017) General Election 2017: full results and analysis. Available at: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-7979/ (Accessed 19th February 2021).
Corbin, J. (2017) Twitter post Available At: https://twitter.com/jeremycorbyn/status/856245834492641282 ( Accessed 20th February 2021).
Keating, A. and Melis, G. (2017) Social Media and Youth Political Engagement: Preaching to the converted or providing a new voice for youth?. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations. Vol 19(4), pp.877-894. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1369148117718461 (Accessed 18th February 2021).
Skinner, G., and Mortimore, R. (2019) How Britain voted in the 2019 election. Available at: https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/how-britain-voted-2019-election (Accessed 23rd February 2021)
Skinner, G., and Mortimore, R. (2017) How Britain voted in the 2017 election. Available at : https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/how-britain-voted-2017-election (Accessed 23rd February 2021).
Marsh, D., O ́Toole, T. and Jones, S., (2007) Young people and politics in the UK: Apathy or alienation?. Palgrave Macmillan: Basingstoke.
Savage, M., and Hacillo, A. (2017) How Jeremy Corbyn turned a youth surge into general election votes. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jun/10/jeremy-corbyn-youth-surge-votes-digital-activists (Accessed 18th February 2021)
Sloam, J. and Ehsan, M. R. (2017) Youth Quake. Palgrave Macmillan: UK
Hey Tiffany,
I really enjoyed reading your blog, I think you gave some fantastic points about the misinterpretation of the youth in regard to politics. I definitely agree with the idea that young people are underrepresented in the political world, as I myself do not feel like there is a specific candidate who I feel like I can hold accountable to progress society in a way that benefits me. I also liked how you mentioned that the youth are highly active on social media and this could help the government to engage and promote their ideologies online in order to increase youth participation. Young people’s voices aren’t heard by the government and the majority of the times are silenced, which is why we use social media as a way to have a voice and even result to other methods such as campaigning in order to get the government to listen to us. Young people are considered to be very politically inactive however like you said this is not because of our lack of interest but because of the governments failure to involve us.
Do you think if we had someone in the same demographic as us we would relate to them more and feel further encouraged to participate?
Hey, Tiffany!!!
Loved reading your blog on your opinions on how us as youth have suffered in politics. I personally remember not being the correct age to vote for BREXIT in the UK this caused me to have high tension and frustration levels due to this one vote determining our future! Personally, from this referendum in 2014 we saw an increase in young people and politics which seemed interesting. I believe that lowering the voting age should be considered because if the voting age can be as high at 65+ why can’t it be lowered to 16 years old. Especially now that many young people are a lot more involved with politics and the government around them.
It’s interesting to see that the 2017 election was the highest recorded numbers in the last 25 years. Also, we have realised that students and individuals within the BAME group were more involved with the referendum that year. We also understand that students and BAME group individuals in previous years have always been pushed away from politics due to them discriminated against. I can see from your blog that you associated BAME groups quite frequently throughout your blog when associating it with youth and politics. It’s lovely to see that someone in our class has thought about those who are discriminated and neglected in society.
Hello Tiffany!
This is a great blog with a lot of information regarding young people and their political engagement. I totally agree that the government often don’t accommodate the needs of young people and their needs are overlooked! In most cases, like you mentioned government doesn’t seem to care about what the younger generation wants and needs. If this was the case many more youths would feel as though their vote mattered and would make the most of their say. The graph you provided in your blog regarding the vote turnouts is a clear example that young people do participate when the government reaches out to help them. Proof of this was in the year of 2017 Jeremy Corbyn talked about wanting to scarp tuition fees and he used techniques such as working with a grime artist part of the youth generation. In fact, this was the only year where I also listened to the news hoping that the Labour Party won. As you emphasised in your blog, this led to the highest vote youth turnout yet! You made great links throughout your blog which supports the fact that If government focused on the wants and needs of youths, they will participate. I believe that as our voices aren’t listened to by the government, we use different ways to participate such as social media and political demonstrations which then is still portrayed negatively in the media!!! We should use citizenship education to teach children how they can make differences in society, which would lead to the newer generation expressing their views on legislations, this would help our voices to be heard!
Here is an interesting video regarding how the youth felt about not being able to vote in the EU referendum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCiCcF47RhQ