GETTING ENGAGED WITH POLITICS
Rebecca Hills
It is clear that we, as young people, are an increasingly marginal group within our electoral system. In the 2015 General Election, less than half of all 18-24 year olds voted compared with over 70 per cent of over-65s; while just half of all eligible young people had even registered to vote in comparison with 94 per cent of over-65s.
These figures highlight a crisis in the British political system, one of a fundamental disconnect between young voters and their MPs. To ensure that the future of UK politics is a representative one, it is imperative that we find a way to get more young people involved in the way our country is run.
As young people, we need to make sure that the government represents us, not just our parents and grandparents. At the moment, there is no Minister for Youth, which means that there is no government department, which acts on the behalf of young people. This might be why so many young people feel disenchanted with politicians – because they don’t actively represent us.
Despite this, there are many platforms that allow young people to get engaged in politics. For example, you can become a member of the youth section of a political party. Each of the main UK parties has a highly active youth branch: the Conservatives have Conservative Future, Labour has Young Labour and the Liberal Democrats have Liberal Youth.
Through joining one of these parties, you’ll be able to find out exactly how that party wants to help young people; you will be able to contribute towards policy discussions and attend events with other young people with the same interests. So, if you’re disengaged with politics and politicians because you don’t feel represented, join a party and get involved.
Another key reason why so many of us don’t get involved with politics is because politicians use lots of jargon to confuse voters and make their policies more ambiguous. Therefore, when we try to read a manifesto or listen to an interview it’s difficult to stay connected. So, I’ve translated some of the phrases politicians often say to confuse us:
Additionally, if you’re engaged but have absolutely no idea who to vote for or who will be standing for election where you live, there is an amazing website called TickBox which can help. TickBox allows you to take quizzes to see which party represents your views best and then also shows you all of the possible people who you could vote for in your area. Below is a video that the people at TickBox have produced, which explains exactly how it all works.
So, if you find yourself tuning out every time a politician appears on the TV or scrolling past the political news on social media, this article is for you. At the moment politicians can use the excuse that because young people are not engaged, they don’t have a responsibility to represent us. We need to change this. Even if you don’t intend to pursue a career in politics in the future, you can’t escape it. Any job you have will be affected by the decisions MPs make at Westminster, so to ensure that the decisions they make help you, take an interest in politics and make sure they don’t forget that young people are just as important as everyone else.
These figures highlight a crisis in the British political system, one of a fundamental disconnect between young voters and their MPs. To ensure that the future of UK politics is a representative one, it is imperative that we find a way to get more young people involved in the way our country is run.
As young people, we need to make sure that the government represents us, not just our parents and grandparents. At the moment, there is no Minister for Youth, which means that there is no government department, which acts on the behalf of young people. This might be why so many young people feel disenchanted with politicians – because they don’t actively represent us.
Despite this, there are many platforms that allow young people to get engaged in politics. For example, you can become a member of the youth section of a political party. Each of the main UK parties has a highly active youth branch: the Conservatives have Conservative Future, Labour has Young Labour and the Liberal Democrats have Liberal Youth.
Through joining one of these parties, you’ll be able to find out exactly how that party wants to help young people; you will be able to contribute towards policy discussions and attend events with other young people with the same interests. So, if you’re disengaged with politics and politicians because you don’t feel represented, join a party and get involved.
Another key reason why so many of us don’t get involved with politics is because politicians use lots of jargon to confuse voters and make their policies more ambiguous. Therefore, when we try to read a manifesto or listen to an interview it’s difficult to stay connected. So, I’ve translated some of the phrases politicians often say to confuse us:
- Gimmick - Popular idea we wish we’d thought of.
- I’m not justifying it, I’m explaining it - I’m justifying it.
- I’m sorry, but ... - I’m not sorry, and …
- I’m sympathetic to that proposal - I feel sorry for it, because it’s doomed.
- Passionate - The standard unit of interest in a subject.
- Misguided - Their intentions are good, but they are idiots.
- Too little, too late - The quality of our opponents’ proposals when they are in serious danger of being popular.
- We must focus on the immediate issue - And not the thing you keep asking about.
- We need to look more widely - Until we find some evidence that supports my conclusions.
- We rule nothing out - We are ruling lots of things out, including the thing you just said, but this isn’t the moment to tell you.
Additionally, if you’re engaged but have absolutely no idea who to vote for or who will be standing for election where you live, there is an amazing website called TickBox which can help. TickBox allows you to take quizzes to see which party represents your views best and then also shows you all of the possible people who you could vote for in your area. Below is a video that the people at TickBox have produced, which explains exactly how it all works.
So, if you find yourself tuning out every time a politician appears on the TV or scrolling past the political news on social media, this article is for you. At the moment politicians can use the excuse that because young people are not engaged, they don’t have a responsibility to represent us. We need to change this. Even if you don’t intend to pursue a career in politics in the future, you can’t escape it. Any job you have will be affected by the decisions MPs make at Westminster, so to ensure that the decisions they make help you, take an interest in politics and make sure they don’t forget that young people are just as important as everyone else.
