Politics and the young

 

In 2001 just 39% of people between the ages of 18 and 25 voted in the general election in the UK. Of course, for most people this won’t come as surprise. “Young people just aren’t interested in politics.” said one politician. Now, on the one hand that might be true, but shouldn’t we be asking ourselves why that is? After all, it’s only through getting involved in politics that one has the chance to affect the way the country is governed.

 

 

“One of the biggest problems isn’t young people, it’s the politicians” says Lynn Green, 19. “The thing is that they just don’t listen to our opinions.” But is that the only problem? One of the other reasons that young people aren’t voting is that most of the issues that concern them aren’t discussed or debated. “There’s lots of talk about pensions, buying a house and taxes, but these are not things that your average 20-year old is worried about.” said Graham Jewel, 20. “I’m far more concerned about the environment, how I can afford to go to university and street crime.”

 

In the UK an organization called the British Youth Council actively tries to get youngsters involved in politics. It sees the need to get politicians to listen and actually engage young people in discussion as the key to overcoming the disinterest. Recently, the BYC organised an event where some of the leading politicians would meet with a group of teenagers.

 

The event started off with a concert. It was interesting to see how the politicians, most of them in their 40s or 50s, reacted to the music. But, it’s often through their music that young people express their politics and ideas. “It’s the easiest way to make your point and let lots of people hear it.” said Jay, a singer in one of the bands.

 

The next event was a political speed dating – ‘it was really cool” said one teenager. ‘The politicians had to sit down and we had three minutes to ask them as many questions as we wanted. They were told that they had to answer honestly and that we would judge them on five aspects – how easy they were to talk to, whether they listened, how aware they were of youth issues, their ability to answer specific questions and how likely they were to get young people to vote for them.’

 

Surprisingly, at the end of the event most of the politicians agreed it had been a useful experience. “I was only embarrassed once” said one female politician, but she wouldn’t say what had caused her to be embarrassed.

 

Now more of these events are planned with the idea of raising awareness on both sides. Firstly, it’s important to make young people believe they can make a difference. And, it’s equally important that we get our politicians to really listen to young people and take their opinions seriously, because it’s these young people who will go on to become the politicians of the future.

 

 

Writing

Choose a book that you like and write a short review. Think about the plot, the characters, where and when it is set and why you liked it. Write between 200–250 words.