Hey member of the disenfranchised youth! Did you know that today is National Voter Registration Day? Because it is. Even if this has passed you by completely, you've probably noticed that everyone (politicans, the media... and that's about it) is OBSESSED with our right to vote and what we're doing with it (not enough apparently – only 12% of under-25s plan to vote in the next election).
With 15 months to go until the next General Election, Shadow Justice Secretaty Sadiq Khan announced Labour's plan to reduce the age of voting to 16 and potentially make first-time voting compulsory, and David Blunkett blamed our low voting record on Russell Brand for spreading apathy and cynicism. In an interview with the BBC's Daily Politics programme, Blunkett accused Russell Brand of being a 'corrosive influence... I'm fully in favour of people being highly sceptical – that's part of a healthy democracy – but not cynical. And what we've moved to, too often, is just straight abuse, so they're not actually very funny either which is, in my view, quite a problem.’
Blunkett was referring to Brand’s now notorious appearance on Newsnight in October when he accused the UK political system of creating a ‘disenfranchised, disillusioned underclass’ (if you’ve been living under a rock for the last four months, you can see the clip here). In it, he said that he's so upset with the political system in its current state that he abstains from voting and, crucially, encouraged others to abstain themselves. The clip went viral, and it's no wonder – Brand is sexy, charismatic, eloquent and funny, and struck a chord with young people in a way that most politicans never manage. But how many actually took it as a call to arms for young people to abandon our traditional voting sytsten and start a (very quiet) revolution? Erm, it turns out, not that many. A survey of 16-25 year olds carried out by vInspire revealed that 69% of young people felt that abstaining from politics - as Brand suggested - wasn't the best way to make politicians take them seriously.
Politicians and policy makers *know* that young people aren’t going to bother to vote, so why should they bother making policy to win them over?
Yes, voting levels amongst young people are woefully low but that doesn't mean we want to disengage from the process completely - a fact which seems to have passed Brand by. Blunkett’s noticed, though: ‘Older people, wealthier people, better educated people, engaged people are most likely to turn out on polling day. And who votes the least? Young people, poor people, badly educated people. And who do politicians of all parties fear alienating the most? Who do they ignore the most? Who, when it comes down to further austerity, are in the firing line? And paradoxically the more those who are not engaged are ignored, targeted under the austerity programme and dismissed, the more alienated and disillusioned they become. Politicians, they say, “don't give a damn about us”.’ Newsflash – he’s talking about you and me.
What Blunkett’s getting at is that politicians and policy makers know that young people aren’t going to bother to vote, so why should they bother making policy to win them over? And the more we are ignored, the more politically apathetic we all become – aided by the glitzy, celebrity endorsed apathy of Brand. What a sticky sticky mess we seem to have got ourselves into.
But as we've already said, a good chunk of young people actually disagree with Brand's call to abstain from modern politics. So is there a deeper reason why we’re all not voting? I really don’t know (I’ve always voted, my family are traditionally Labour and I would be hung, drawn and quartered if I didn’t vote) so I guess it’s time to ask the experts.
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*Emily Benn is the eldest daughter of Stephen Benn and four generations of her family have been members of parliament. She joined the Labour party when she was 14 years old, became the youngest person to be selected to run for election at 17 and now, at 24, is standing as the Labour Candidate for Croydon in the 2015 general elections. Why does she think young people are so disengaged? *
‘I completely agree with David Blunkett because what Russell Brand was said was dangerous and corrosive – people are still dying all over the world for the right to vote and he’s just dismissed the gift of the entrenched, democratic right to vote we have in this country. He didn’t present any solution, so how are his comments actually helping young people who feel disengaged and apathetic?
‘Listen, I come across his attitude often – I’m in the age group of people who are least likely to vote and I get as angry and pissed off as everyone else – but I still see politics as the best route to changing things. I think that the main problem is the media and politicians themselves have made politicians seem like aliens who are totally different to young people on the street. But we’re not – we’re just normal, real people who get behind a cause and want to change things. Politicians need to spend more face-to-face time getting to know people in their communities actually demonstrating how policy affects their lives – that’s how to engage young people, who aren’t stupid. And I don’t buy that young people are politically disengaged – young people are interested in issues even if they don’t vote – but the only way we can get older politicians to reflect our needs is to make our requirements heard. The best way to do that is still voting, despite what Brand said.’
*Caroline Lucas has been the Green MP for Brighton and is particularly interested in gender politics, animal welfare, poverty, the environment and drugs and alcohol. He’s what she thinks. *
‘I think Russell Brand tapped into a very real sense of disillusionment with politics, which is affecting young people in particular. But his conclusion wasn’t simply that people shouldn’t vote at all, although that’s how the headlines have had it. Crucially, he went on to say that the only reason to vote is if the vote represents power or change. There are a lot of specific reasons why young people don’t vote – the expenses scandal, Labour’s lies on Iraq, Nick Clegg’s duplicity over tuition fees, and David Cameron’s massive “top down re-organisation” of the NHS, having explicitly pledged the opposite. But there’s something deeper than that – a belief that none of the mainstream parties are listening to the electorate; none are being honest about tackling the real challenges that we face, as we sleepwalk towards climate catastrophe and ever greater punishment of the poor; and none are independent of big business interests which are increasingly embedded within Whitehall itself. Westminster seems remote and irrelevant. The whole of parliamentary procedure should be dragged into the twenty-first century, with an end to corporate influence, and far greater transparency and accountability introduced over the entire legislative process.’
Did you know that *not* registering to vote can kill your credit rating
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Mike Sani, is a former teacher who founded Bite The Ballot three years ago at the age of 27 when he became frustrated at the lack of political engagement with young people.
‘Young people aren’t exactly chomping at the bit to vote – but Brand definitely isn’t helping encourage people take up their democratic right to vote. I don’t think Blunkett should be looking for scapegoats, however, because young people really need to realise that they do have a choice and it’s always better to say something than not. The onus should be on young people and they need to stop blaming politicians – with only 12% of young people planning to vote in 2015, why would politicians bother making policy to reflect your needs? You’re not going to get them into power! I think the problem is that a lot of young just don’t know enough about their right to vote and they need to be better educated – did you know that not registering to vote can kill your credit rating, for example? People say ignorance is bliss but actually we get to a stage where ignorance is selfish. In the coming years, if you all register to vote in numbers then that puts you on an equal standing to other members of society and the politicians will have to mirror the wants and needs of the younger demographic – that’s going to make for an exciting time in our democracy. But it starts with getting out there and telling young people about their democratic rights. We all know when the next series of X Factor is on – and that’s what our politics need.’
Chloe Smith was appointed Minister for Political and Constitutional Reform in September 2012. She is the Conservative MP for Norwich North.
‘Russell Brand’s words were destructive, firstly because the nihilism which he puts across doesn’t actually help anyone (young or otherwise) in your community and secondly because he didn’t provide any answers. To say we need an armed revolution isn’t going to help British people very much. The statistics are very arresting, but there isn’t any single reason why people are choosing not to vote. Some people feel unconfident that they know enough about politics to cast their vote or to get involved. Some people are not interested in what they perceive to be the traditions of British politics, which can seem quite unmodern. And lots of young people don’t trust politicians – I was elected in 2009 almost as a direct result of the expenses scandal. This is something that young people have to do for themselves – I was one of the youngest people elected to parliament at 27 and those of us who are in politics at a young age can represent young people and help strike a balance between the generations, but you’ve got to be in it to win it.’
Pictures: Getty
Follow Sophie on Twitter @sophiecullinane
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.