As the election looms, we’ve joined Sky News’s #StandUpAndBeCounted tour to find out what fellow young people think are important voting issues. After visiting Sheffield the other day, our second stop is Cardiff.
Welsh politics was given prominence recently after Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood was included in the televised leaders’ debate where she gave Nigel Farage the ultimate put-down by telling him he should be ‘ashamed’ of himself after comments he made about migrants with HIV.
But what do the students of Cardiff make of all this election stuff? Here’s what they had to say:
FLEUR STANFORD, 19, FROM CORNWALL, BIOLOGY STUDENT
‘Lady products’ should be cheaper and they shouldn’t be taxed as they are essential. Considering they’re a necessity, they cost too much money, especially when you’re a student. I think that considering there’s a higher men to women ratio in politics, it’s probably not going to be at the top of their agenda. I just think anything to do with that area shouldn’t cost too much money but especially tampons and sanitary towels.’
JORDAN EVANS, 23, FROM THE RHONDDA
‘I’m from one of the most deprived areas in South Wales and I really see the impact of cuts on my local community. The vast majority of people I went to school with are now unemployed. Those who are working are on minimum wage and kind of surviving as opposed to living.’
CLAUDIA BLAIR, 20, FROM BOURNEMOUTH, HISTORY & POLITICS STUDENT
‘I think the price of prescriptions should be reduced or they should at least bring in student rates. In Wales, they’re free, which is great, so England should be the same! At home if [my illness] is not that severe, like my allergies, I’ll put off going to the doctor’s because £8 or £9 every time is a lot. Also waiting times to see a doctor are a bit of a joke. At the uni GP, if it’s not an emergency, it’s two weeks to see a doctor. You can go and wait in the morning at 8.30am but if it gets to 10am and you haven’t been seen you kind of have to leave.’
INKE TOLA, 18, FROM ISLE OF MAN, POLITICS STUDENT
‘The key voting issue right now is taxation. Immigrants and benefits claimants are being scapegoated when there are things far more problematic like tax evasion and tax avoidance that are collectively taking away £120 billion from the economy.’
OLIVIA WEBSTER, 20, FROM SHREWSBURY, LAW STUDENT
‘Housing is my key issue. I think there’s loads of schemes out there for people who can’t afford houses, like the right-to-buy scheme of buying out council houses, but what happens to people who have just graduated from uni? We’re in so much debt from the higher tuition fees and we can’t get on the housing ladder either. I think like 90% or more of our generation won’t be able to afford our own houses ever. I don’t see how it’s ever going to be an attainable goal for us.’
APRIL HEADE, 21, FROM BARRY ISLAND, ENGLISH LIT GRADUATE
‘My main issue as a graduate is coming out of uni and not having anything to go straight in to. They should create more graduate jobs or internships but at the same time not exploit graduates. I think Labour has said that it’s going to ban unpaid internships over four weeks, which I think needs to be done because we’re desperate for the experience and they’re able to exploit it. I also think people would be more politically active if we could vote online. I know there are security issues but if they could overcome that technically, I think everyone would vote.’
ALICE CIANCIMINO, 19, FROM STAFFORDSHIRE, MOLECULAR BIOLOGY STUDENT
‘The rates of student tuition fees are too high. Especially because in Wales and other countries they’re only £3,000, England should be the same. I don’t think there should be any fees at all though, because if you think about it, how much are they getting back? By the time you’re earning enough, you don’t end up paying the whole thing back anyway. Another reason there shouldn’t be any fees is that it discriminates against those who can’t afford it.’
ALYS MORGAN, 19, FROM ABERDARE, PHARMACY STUDENT
‘There should be more jobs for students after they graduate. We pay all this money and then they can’t get a job afterwards. I expect I’ll find it very difficult when I graduate because there’ll be a lot of competition and not enough jobs. Even if the government made more apprenticeships for jobs, there’s no apprenticeships in pharmacy. I think it applies to all industries but it’s an up-and-coming problem within pharmacy.’
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Follow Olivia on Twitter @Livblair
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.