The Kids Aren’t All Right/No Child Left Behind
As we move forward as a nation, baring the growing pains of a poorly handled Brexit and a mismanaged COVID pandemic, citizen political involvement is more important now than at any other point in our modern history. However in the wake of political polarisation and strategic populism (Moffitt, 2020), it seems that the young people in the UK have grown ever more distrusting of “conventional politics”(Sloam, 2007).
In recent years, young people have been seen to have voted in lower numbers compared to other demographics (Bellinger, 2017), and this has often been attributed to an increasing lack of political education. It is claimed that there have been less educational political involvement, like class elections, life skills sessions around voting and student presidents, and that this change is the reason for a decline in political actions amongst the people graduating secondary education. Furthermore, the responsibility for this has largely been put on youth counsellors and school teachers, with academics claiming that our educators are failing to politically activate young people, amongst their already overwhelming list of responsibilities. What if, however, in the wake of such “unprecedented times”, and the generally perceived mishandling of several “once-in-a-lifetime” events in succession, the young people of the UK have lost faith in a system they believe has never effectively served them as they were told it would?
And while this political “cynicism” is held strongly by young people, they are by no means the only demographic feeling the weight of the modern political behaviour.
Responses to the question “Do you think British Politicians are out for merely themselves, their party, or to do their best for their country” in a study done by the Institute for Public Policy Research (Quilter-pinner et al., 2021).
As of November 2021, 63% of a survey of the general public believe that politicians are “mainly in it for themselves”. Even more striking, only 1 in 20 people surveyed believe that politicians work with the country’s best interest at heart.
Given recent national and international events, it’s clear to see why young people would feel collectively disenfranchised with conventional politics. Their access to social media has allowed millions of young British people to express their frustration with government choices and scandal, across space and amongst themselves. This medium of protest, which is also digitally located where many young people receive their political news (Newman et al. 2019), removes the ability for politicians to ignore the scandals and uproar of their previous action. As a result, social media has increased length of public memory for young people. This was shown to be especially true recently, when it was discovered that during the peak of the COVID restrictions in London and the UK at large, Boris Johnson was claimed by insiders to be at an illegal party with his colleagues. PM Johnson initially claimed no such event happened, then changed their tone to say he did not attend such a party once an investigation was ordered, before finally rebranding the celebration as a “work event” once photos of the prime minister on a lawn chair with champagne and cheese were released to the British media. The associated hashtags circled the British internet for months after the photos were released, as young internet users voiced their frustrations, and the choices that PM Johnson has made since have all been made under the shadow of the scandal. Drawing on my own experience as a young person, I recall the communal outrage amongst my peers, many of whom felt the crushing weight of the COVID regulations on our mental health and continued for the good of the people around us. The leader of the most popular political party in the country, who created and enforced such regulations with police powers, made a mockery of the British public with their actions and definitely sparked some cynicism within me.
Even prior to the COVID pandemic and the UK governments mishandling and selective enforcement of regulations, high educational attainment and economic stagnation has lead to what Sloam and Henn (2018) call a “cocktail” of political engagement and resentment within UK citizens.
This all has a rather predictable result. In a nation where political engagement through representative democracy is declining amongst all age groups, it is declining fastest amongst younger people.
What then, is the solution to the problem of political cynicism amongst young people? Do we perhaps double down on political education, adding yet another straw to the strained metaphorical back of our primary educators (Walker et al., 2019)? Maybe more empty promises regarding important issues should be plastered on the side of buses to deceive young people into political engagement?
Or perhaps then, the solution to political cynicism in the UK must come as a result of increased accountability within the houses of parliament. Perhaps, radically, if the Government of the United Kingdom wishes to be viewed with respect and be taken seriously by its people, then it must act in a way which warrants such respect and faith, that has been lost by the populist political strategy taken by the nation’s politicians.
“…the solution to political cynicism in the UK most come as a result of increased accountability within the houses of parliament”
This “Us vs Them” strategy of populism taken by the major political organisations within the UK leads political parties and their members to focus more on “party victories” than moral actions. “Party Loyalty” creates a divided and polarised public (Duffy et al., 2019), which is where we find ourselves today, and is why so many young people lack the faith in those within the Houses of Parliament.
So where does that leave the young people of the United Kingdom? If your cynicism is justified and “conventional politics” truly has failed to represent your interests, where then do we make our impact on the house of parliament?
Hold party leaders accountable, regardless of political alignment. Write to MPs within your political party to voice frustration with party leaders, and if they refuse to cooperate then refuse to give them your vote. The current political system in the UK is so stagnant as a result of “loyalty” that even those young people invested in causing change from the inside are finding themselves abandoning their political journeys and giving up faith in party structure (Bowie 2022).
If the young people of the UK wish to see real political change and accountability, then it is important that they pick moral action over Conservative or Labour victories. Otherwise the citizens and young people of the United Kingdom will continue to be caught in the crossfire of endless party conflict
Bibliography:
Bellinger, S. (2017) Why Don’t Young People Vote? Available at: https://www.byc.org.uk/blog/why-dont-young-people-vote (Accessed: 26/02/2022).
Bowie, J. (2022) Perthshire ‘facing exodus of young political talent’ over failure to make local democracy accessible. The Courier. Fed 18, Available at: https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/politics/scottish-politics/3027039/perthshire-facing-exodus-of-young-political-talent-over-failure-to-make-local-democracy-accessible/ (Accessed: 02/03/2022).
Duffy, B. et al. (2019) Divided Britain? Kings College London. Available at: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/policy-institute/assets/divided-britain.pdf (Accessed: 21/02/2022).
ITV News (2019) Boris Johnson ordered to court over 2016 Brexit comments | ITV News. 29 May. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMrupXIeZo4 (Accessed 09/02/2022)
Moffitt, B. (2020) The trouble with anti-populism: Why the champions of civility keep losing. The Guardian. Feb 14, Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/feb/14/anti-populism-politics-why-champions-of-civility-keep-losing?r (Accessed: 21/02/2022).
Newman, N. et al. (2019) Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2019. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Available at: https://search.informit.org/documentSummary;res=APO;dn=241541 .
Quilter-Pinner, H. et al. (2021) Trust Issues: Dealing with Distrust in Politics. IPPR. Available at: https://www.ippr.org/research/publications/trust-issues (Accessed: 07/03/2022).
Sloam, J. (2007) Rebooting democracy: Youth participation in politics in the UK, Parliamentary Affairs, 60(4), pp.548-567. doi:10.1093/pa/gsm035.
Sloam, J. and Henn, M. (2018) Rejuvenating politics: Young political participation in a changing world, in Anonymous Youthquake 2017. Cham: Springer International Publishing AG, pp. 17-42.
Walker, M., Worth, J. and Van den Brande, J. (2019) Teacher Workload Survey 2019: Research Report. Department for Education. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/855933/teacher_workload_survey_2019_main_report_amended.pdf (Accessed: 21/02/2022).
I agree with your blog and how it highlights how politics often becomes about winning and losing sides rather than the politics themselves. Perhaps this is one of the reasons levels of political engagement do not match the number of young people in the polls. That is to say, perhaps the intensity of the debate creates engagement but then young people are unsure on where to take these opinions and feelings and therefore don’t end up voting. In my blog I discussed how Corybn created mass political engagement among the youth of the UK. However, would you say Corbyns engagement is a prime example of this ‘Us vs Them’ mentality.
I read your blog, and it definitely seems that you and I hit on the same spirit of the key issues that cause young people to not involve themselves politically, at least at a electoral level. I think you make a clear distinction that perhaps I didn’t, in highlighting the difference between levels of political engagement and levels of young voters. I think you’re completely right in understanding the difference between the two, and I think that’s an oversight I’ve made in the past. Non-traditional forms of political engagement such as protest and debate are entirely valid methods of impacting the world politically, and while I still hold true to voting being the primary way the existing government is changed, these non-traditional means should absolutely be considered.
I absolutely agree that political polarisation has become such a big issue within politics, and has led to a major mistrust in political systems. I liked how you pointed out the ways in which politicians in the United Kingdom should take more accountability in the ways in which they are polarising politics. As someone from the United States that is also absolutely true, there has been very little, if at all accountability from politicians when it comes to political legislation along ‘party lines’. This really should change if people want to get involved. I’m just curious what other ways can youth get involved to start changing the narrative?
Thank you Kim! You’re totally right to say that the United States is facing a very similar issue, in terms of political polarisation at least. If I was to suggest other ways young people could begin to change the narrative, other than speaking directly to politicians and partaking in existing democratic systems, I would have to say the same thing comment on in my other blog post. Social media is a massively powerful tool that young people have in controlling the narrative of public attention. Within the social media space, every single individual has a voice that can twist the direction of public focus.
Young people can use this voice to call for political actions against MPs who stand more on the side of party victories instead of accurately representing their constituents. And there are many instances on Instagram and Twitter already of such events happening! While direct democratic political action is undoubtedly the most effective means of political action for young people, social media engagement can also be an incredibly useful tool for young people to ensure their voices and calls for their representation are not ignored.
The problems with current UK politics is that the older age groups believe in the current system and actively support it. This is because it has given them continuous rising house prices and this makes them appear to be affluent at least on paper. This is a social group who view themselves as having a stake in the current system and as a result are more likely to vote to keep the status quo intact. Within the 21st century it has created a political hegemony, composed of older people: who appear to have a social investment in rising house prices voting Conservative.
There are a number of problems for this age group as they are not fully aware of the implications around being able to keep hold of this wealth. When they become ill and are placed within care homes, the government only allows them to retain a minimum amount of their amassed wealth, around £23,000. It means they have to sell their houses to pay for this ongoing ‘care’. Everything they worked for suddenly dissolves and returns back to the state.
Meanwhile young people are locked out fo the current system which is based on continuous wealth accumulation, instead they are offered low paid jobs. It means they can never accumulate the wealth to buy a house and are locked out of the system.
The political parties are not concerned with young people because they lack the ability to mobilise themselves. As they become more and more disillusioned they switch off from the current system based on political parties each vying to upholding the current system, and so their alienation becomes complete.
If young people want to change anything they are asked to join the political parties that enforce their alienation. It appears the longevity of the current system is finite.
Hey Hristina! I totally agree that it can be infuriating as a young person to be, essentially, financially locked out of home ownership due to housing prices that have risen massively more than average income. While there are routes around that, it’s massively more difficult and less lucrative for our generation than the generations before us, and I’m sure the millennial generation felt the same way.
However, it’s important to consider if it is truly older people that are supporting the current system, the greater youth engagement is still an effective first step for reform. An individual can involve themselves politically without committing themselves to a major political party, as the right wing did in 2019 with Nigel Farage’s Brexit party, which won more seats in the European Parliamentary elections that year than any other party (Although all cards on the table, I have very little respect for Mr Farage himself).
I would not be ignorant enough to argue that “just vote” is an complete and effective method of political reform, and the alienation young people feel from major political parties is entirely understandable when both the Labour and Conservative parties have demonstrated time and time again that they are invested more in their own success than the accurate representation of the British people. But I still believe that involving yourself politically is crucially important as a young person, even if just as a first step. Young people outnumber these older generations that are responsible for perpetuating so many difficulties that you outline. Wouldn’t you agree that combatting this self-perpetuating alienation is our responsibility as young people, to ensure that the generation after us doesn’t need to fight the battles that we did when the powerful amongst our own generation fill the seats of parliament?