SED*8 Magazine

by Rob Khan

“I’ve never voted”…”Nor have I!” said two of my university friends recently. “Why not?” I barked back at them… To which I received a shrug of the shoulders, a quick smile and a rapid switch of conversation to the more important matter of how you can buy lookalike designer bags in Tesco’s for  twelve quid.

I’m concerned. We are living in age where Cheryl Cole’s new teeth can draw more attention then the future of our country and it is the exact people who should be concerned with it, that have no interest whatsoever. For most young people Gordon Brown is about as relevant as learning Latin or any other bygone activity. We face a real battle in getting young people interested in politics. Time after time we see politicians trying to play it cool, be young (and maybe sometimes a little too free!) Alll so often it doesn’t work and often doesn’t work on a mammoth scale. I point your reference to Neil ‘the rockstar’ Kinnock’. For those to young to remember YouTube it!

Everything to do with the UK Political system is outdated, from the way politics works to how we actually have to vote. Perhaps in order to engage young people we need to look at the ways in which we can vote. I know for a fact that given the facility, young people would be more then happy to vote using their mobile, simultaneously listening to their favourite tunes while also on twitter and on the move all at the same time. Rather than plodding down to their local church hall to place an ‘x’ in a box.

If politicians really want to re-engage young people and turn them into active young voters then what is needed is not a six week campaign on facebook, but a real concerted effort to engage young people in politics, starting with grassroots education. So, politicians across the land please remember young people have views, they matter, they are real so listen… And if your lucky they may even playlist your campaign with some decent songs, so even if you don’t win at least you might sound a bit cooler to us kids!