Global Changemakers

(Over the coming days leading up to 6 May, we will be posting blogs by Global Changemakers from or currently living in the UK, addressing the General Election.)

For decades the UK has prided itself on its achievement of democracy. Heralded as a sign of true development and progress, we have taken to ‘spreading the word’ of democracy far and wide, encouraging free, open and fair elections wherever we go. Its fascinating, therefore, that the UK has a political crisis on it’s hands.

It’s not a crisis of fairness or of accessibility by all (although there are admittedly problems with that). It’s a problem with ‘the youth’.

For some reason young people are disinclined to vote. In our last general election (they run every 5 years) for example, reported turnout amongst the 18-24 age group was 44.3%, compared with 71.3% for the 35-44 age group and 86.1% amongst those aged 65 or more. I heard the other day that 56% of young people over the age of 18 aren’t even registered to vote!

The problem is that this lack of engagement by young people in the political system in the UK has been misinterpreted. Politicians and the media alike accuse young people of taking for granted their ability to vote when peers in countries around the world are putting life on the line to earn that vote. We are accused or turning our nose up at the iconic political history we have, including the suffragette movement of the early 20th Century. In short, we stand accused of becoming lazy, ungrateful and apathetic.

I would argue that for many young people this is just not the case. Young people actually have a very high level of engagement in politics and political issues. Indeed, ask many of the same reporters and politicians about protest in the UK and they will quickly turn to moaning about how protests are full of idealistic young people with too much time on their hands.

So how can these people simultaneously charge us with being apathetic when it comes to political engagement, yet also complain that we are stirrers of political discontent?

What I argue is this – the state of party politics in the UK has started a negative cycle with young people at its heart.

Politics has become mired in sleaze and some might argue corruption. In the last few months, for example, the UK has been hit by an expenses scandal – MPs using public money to pay for everything from holidays to duck houses (yes, that’s right, duck houses). Moreover, politics has become the refuge of predominantly white, middle class men over the age of 40 who have made a career out of being arrogant and pompous. And as for the media – they don’t usually quote a young person unless they are saying something downright daft (but the media’s portrayal of young people is another rant I won’t go into here).

All of this has made party politics seems alien, inaccessible and frankly repugnant to many young people who are otherwise actually very passionate about the state of the health system, the prices of public transport, the lack of jobs or the fact that they face serious debt if they want a degree education. Indeed my standard response when someone asks me why I don’t go into politics is “eugh. Because I want to actually make a difference”.

So, as young people have drawn away from formal politics, so the issues important to them, and their platform to speak and be heard has been eroded or withdrawn. Then, as these opportunities for empowerment become less and less, so young people have found it harder and harder to fight their way in, and thus they give up the fight and the spiral begins.

So what happens next? What is the answer? I wish I knew. It does seem that this election has inspired a few more young people to get involved – largely because with the election being much closer than usual, marginal groups of voters like young people are suddenly finding themselves back at the centre of the political focus.

I’m conscious now that I’ve been on a fairly long rant, and to be honest I’m a little unsure how to end. Except to say that for any politicians reading this – I hope they take this blog, and the Changemakers network more widely as a sign that young people are positively engaged with socio-political issues, and hell, some of us might even vote!

- Ellie Hopkins