Throughout history young people have always played a crucial role in politics and it is crucial for young Britons to be involved in politics because they are the future of this country. The youth have control to make change because their opinion is significant and central to politics. Young people are privileged to live in a democratic country because it allows their opinion to be heard and have the freedom to express their voice. Young Britons are not being controlled by the government therefore the youth have to ensure that UK remains an equal and free country. It is impossible to promote equality and freedom if there is a lack of political involvement from the youth.

“In a society where all young citizens vote, politics would be given the shake-up it desperately needs, with younger politicians getting elected, making parliament more diverse and bringing with them modern ideas and opinions. The end result would be a parliament that would be more innovative and willing to try out new things, implement better laws and overall make politics more accessible” (Imafidon, 2018).

Education plays an important role in politics because those who are educated e.g the youth hold a strong determination. They are strongly determined and have the knowledge to make Britain a better and successful country. Young Britons have a modern outlook therefore this is beneficial for our future because they are able to put forward modern techniques and strategies for the UK in order to make this country progress and aim for a brighter future. It is argued that the youth has a better understanding to the present situations due to knowledge they gained from being educated from a young age. In addition to this they have the ability to come up with solutions to change and improve Britain. It is an advantage for young people being able to engage in politics and allow their voices to be heard in order to move the political world forward

However there are arguments against young people have the choice to vote because politics does not have any effect on them. Young people are too busy socialising, going out and having fun so they do not have the great insight about the government and political issues. In today’s society 18-25 year old’s do not engage in politics because they feel it is boring and mundane.The reason for this is because they get up to more exciting things to do on the weekends. However in the United Nation fact sheet it is quoted ‘in order to respond to the needs of young people, and to guarantee that their basic human rights are recognised and enforced, young people’s active and meaningful participation in their societies and democratic parties and processes is of crucial importance’ (Un.org, 2018). Most young people are unreliable and irresponsible so they shouldn’t be able to vote because they don’t have a clue what they are voting for and this can have a big impact on our future and government. Young people in Britain are very ignorant to the social issues so they cant hold the responsibility to vote as some don’t understand politics. They believe what they are being exposed on the media so this can make them vote for the wrong political party and their political  choices are based upon unreliable sources. Moreover, they can be deceived into going the wrong way and making the wrong choices if they do not have enough political knowledge to make a decision and it will lead them to  do what their parents say.

Why do young people not vote?

There has been an decrease of young people voting because institutions such as universities and schools do not teach politics. Young people are not being taught about politics so this has had an impact on the statistics of young voters because most of them do not vote as some of them feel they should not have the responsibility to take part in something that is important for society. In The Guardian, Millie Morris quotes ‘large amounts of the non-voting population feel they cannot dip their toe in the political pool for fear of being sucked in a complicated and competitive world beyond their comprehension (Morris, 2018). It can be argued that there is a lack of political involvement from young people because some feel that even if they vote it will not have a significant impact and there will be no political changes or new strategies make the world a better place.

“Despite an increase in in youth turnout, young people are still noticeably less likely to vote than older people. While 57% of 18 and 19 year-olds voted last week, for those aged 70+ the figure was 84%”(Curtis and Curtis, 2018).

In my opinion I feel everyone has a political experience whether they know it or not as ultimately political decisions effect each one of us in some way. For instance the EU referendum and how this can change future relations with other countries as well as our economical structure. I feel the labour party has better engagement for the younger generation when compared to the other parties running in the UK. This is evidently shown on the chart above. You can see that young people aged between 18-24 in 2017 voted for labour. The reason for this is because the labour party came up with policies that was beneficial for the youngsters in Britain. Ultimately it is the young generation who will be living the consequences so it is important that they have all information needed to make the correct decisions for their future. Politics can cause conflict between many groups of people as some of their views are strong therefore it is important everyone’s views to be voiced so the opinions of the majority are taken into consideration and an agreement can be made.