Growing up in the UK I would always overhear people say the word ‘politics’ everywhere I went, I have a vague memory of walking to a polling station with my mother and standing in the queue and looking at people wearing a bright, distinctive colourful bow and from that day I was always intrigued to know what ‘politics’ was. However my parents would always change the subject whenever I asked them and tell me ‘I am too young to understand’. As the years went by and I grew up I remember one day going to a conference with a group of people and little did I know the conference was solely based on politics. At this point I was 18 and during my time in secondary school I was never taught politics once so it was very challenging for me to volunteer in political discussions because I did not have enough knowledge and understanding to participate as I was not politically educated. Many of us are taught politics at home and school and there are studies suggesting that children who are exposed to strong political beliefs at a young age are more likely to be politically engaged and will carry on to have a strong passion once they leave their family home. However the only problem with this is that some individuals are also likely to rebel against the views they were exposed to because many parents are only making their children follow the political belief they follow and this can have an impact on their political views because they are only being exposed to one sided view.

“Those in the lowest social class, the poorest in society and the less educated were less likely to be politically active than those who are in a higher social class” (Electoralcommission.org.uk, 2018).

Students with higher level of education and qualification are more likely to vote therefore student’s from middle class backgrounds tend to be politically engaged compared to working class students. Studies have found that young adults are more keen on the sense of participation because they believe its their duty to vote. In the recent Young People’s Social Attitudes Survey, it explored how much young people are engaged in politics and findings from the survey suggested that “young people are likely to share their parents’ views on sex, gender and politics and that ‘… those [12 to 19-year-olds] living in more affluent, and more educated homes, were more likely to think that everyone has a duty to vote” (engagement, 2018).

Figure 1:

(Electoralcommission.org.uk, 2018)

Figure 1 suggests our parents are an important influence when it comes to their children’s political engagement. From figure 1 it shows that people with a household income below £15,000 only 21% believe that its everyone’s duty to vote however students from household income £,50,000 and plus 44% strongly believe it is their duty to vote. These findings can explain that young peoples political interest is significantly affected by discussions they have at home with their parents and their development of their own interest in politics. The probability of middle class background students voting is high because they have more to say due to all the knowledge they have gained however vast majority of students in lower level qualification are from working class backgrounds.

Does political inequality still exist in the UK?

The UK are experiencing high levels of political inequality in the political system. The main key factors for the cause of this is income and education. These factors can help us understand why some individuals participate and why there is a lack of political engagement. Rosset et al found that poor citizens do not participate in politics because they are worse represented than the richer citizens. Therefore this has an impact on the lack of participation because individuals who earn a lower income feel they do not need to vote because in the end the rich always gets what they want. “One analysis of the 2010 election suggested “the most powerful 20 per cent of voters have 21 times as much power as the least powerful” (Ippr.org, 2018). 

In the UK recently there has been an increase in the level of inequality and a fall of political participation because there is a lack of belief that democracy is efficient for individuals who are suppressed in society. In addition to this, Frederick Solt put forward his view explaining that the political process is very rigged because it favours the elite, powerful and rich people. He quotes ‘greater economic inequality increasingly stacks the deck of democracy in favor of the richest citizens’ (Democracy Renewal, 2018). Therefore this can suggest that individuals do not participate in politics because they feel its a game not worth playing. People living in less deprived areas are more likely to have the skills and confidence to engage in political participation. Findings in The Home Office’s 2001 citizenship survey shows that “there is lower ‘social capital’ and trust among those living in deprived areas” (Electoralcommission.org.uk, 2018).

To conclude, I strongly feel that not having a political view does not mean I do not have social and cultural views in society. There is a variety of social issues occurring in this world and most of these issues are made into political controversy. I feel its important as a citizen to contribute to society and make this world a better place because there are worst things happening in this world that most of us do not know about. For example politics has not improved our society because we still have poverty and there is still war happening around the world. What is important for me is to raise awareness to stop children from dying of starvation and people being killed. My goal is to grow and learn through an unbiased lens. Individuals should have the power to decide on the policies that should govern them and this is through equal opportunities to voice their opinions because it is crucial for us to protest in order to help stop suffering.