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Needing a political voice
Disengaged, disillusioned and disinterested. The current youth, known as Generation Y, have become so apathetic with politics they have now been almost completely abandoned by it.
In a destructive cycle, as young people feel more cheated and devalued by stuffy 2014 politics their interest and faith wanes, in turn the government and politicians care less about that generation. And the reason? Generation Y do not vote.
In the 2010 general election only 44 per cent of 18-24 year olds voted, compared to 76 per cent of over 65s. Naturally, the power-obsessed politicians of today are ready to throw the non-voting youth under the bus in favour of older voters.
Sara Reza, 22, didn’t vote in 2010 because she felt she was not informed nor represented in politics today.
She said, “I don’t feel I really know enough about politics [to engage with it] and I didn’t feel an urgency to vote in 2010 because there’s a feeling of does your vote even really matter, or make a difference?”
This is what might be called the â€Russell Brand’ effect. In the infamous Paxman vs. Brand interview (viewed more than 10 million times on YouTube), Brand used his considerable influence to call abandon the â€façade’ of voting because, as he says, democracy isn’t working. Paxman’s reply neatly sums up why today’s young people are ignored by governments, “If you’re not voting, why should we listen to your political point of view?”
It is not that Generation Y is consumed by self-interest – though they have also been nicknamed â€Generation Selfie’. A 2013 poll found that two thirds of people under 35 are interested in current affairs, but less than one third are interested in politics.
Perhaps it is simply that Generation Y feels that while there is nobody to represent their interests, there is nobody to vote for.
Considering the massive betrayal by the Liberal Democrats after the 2010 election, when Nick Clegg’s pledge to abolish tuition fees transformed into a tripling of the cost of university, Generation Y’s distrust of the political system is understandable. As Labour MP John McDonnell said, “It’s no wonder young people don’t trust politics or politicians when they are ignored and lied to.”
It’s not only the lies that generate non-voting – there are so few candidates that represent young people. The average MP is 50 years old. In much the same way as we cannot expect the coalition’s millionaire cabinet to understand the plight of the poor, how can middle aged and elderly politicians understand the plight of the young?
The only politician who seems to have any support among Generation Y is Boris Johnson, but even this has been ill-fated. Charlotte Collinwood, 22, is a graduate who voted for Boris in the 2012 mayoral elections.
She said, “I frivolously voted for Boris because he was likeable and that’s who my parents were voting for. I didn’t really know anything about the parties or their policies, but in retrospect I think Boris avoids big issues and fails to promote women in politics.”
How dangerous is youth disengagement with politics? Anneliese Midgley, political officer for Unite said, “It is incredibly important for young people to vote, firstly because they need to have their democratic say, and secondly because the policies of the political parties affect every aspect of life – employment, tuition fees, house prices, protection in work – and all of these are important for young people.”
Additionally the tendency for Generation Y to turn to right-wing politics when they do engage is further damaging. Anneliese explains, “Left-wing policies are undoubtedly more beneficial to young people than conservative policies. The policies of the current coalition government are detrimental to all levels of society, particularly the young.”
And low youth turnout at elections is about to get worse as opportunistic politicians attempted to make voting more complicated than ever, with the introduction of â€individual electorate registration’ earlier this year.
But Unite – in conjunction with the Mirror, Hope not Hate, Mass1, Bite the Ballot, Generation Rent and the NUT— has set out to make it easier through the #NoVoteNoVoice campaign that aims to get at least one million people registered to vote before May’s general election.
By using Vote Booster you can check if you are registered and, if you aren’t, it will guide you through the registration process every step of the way. Its revolutionary stuff that enables Generation Y to re-establish its political voice and stand up for its future.
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