YouthNet

Young people’s futures were once again at the centre of controversy following Vince Cable’s decision to freeze young people’s wages last week.  He said: “I believe that the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission strike the right balance between pay and jobs, and have therefore accepted all the rate recommendations.”

In the first pay freeze in this age bracket since 1999, 18 to 20 year-olds’ pay will remain at £4.98 while the minimum wage for 16 and 17 year-olds will stay at £3.68.

Employers’ groups including the CBI and the British Chambers of Commerce are backing the government’s decision, claiming the freeze will encourage employers to hire more young people and curb youth unemployment.

It will be some time however before we see whether this strategy works and in the meantime, the cost of living will continue to rise, so the 16-21 year-olds certainly look set for continued financial hardship.

Youth unemployment has surpassed a million, with many young people facing an extremely uncertain future…but this is not ‘new’ news.  At what point are we going to sit up and recognise that things need to change?

To bring about change, young people need to feel supported and that society cares enough about them. We need to ensure this generation of young people isn’t one which loses out.

Improving the future for young people in this country will undoubtedly require continuing commitment from the government, businesses and charities drawing on their resources and expertise to work together to secure a stable employment market, but also a voice and a role for young people themselves.

So how can we do things differently?

A fortnight ago was Votes at 16 Action Week; a week of raising awareness for the campaign to lower the voting age to 16. It’s an issue that’s been on the agenda for quite some time, so we asked our Leaders what they thought about the whole thing.  We started by asking them if they’d voted before (many of our Leaders are over 18 and thus eligible to vote).

The majority of our Leaders said they had voted before, but highlighted some interesting issues about young people’s access to, and education about, the ability to vote.

“I voted once at home in the general election but I messed up and therefore couldn’t vote in the AV ref. which I was quite annoyed about. I wish they would make it easier to vote away from your ‘home’”

Generally, while the ability to be flexible with how people can vote is available through proxy and postal voting, there was a feeling that this wasn’t always explained very well, especially to first time voters.

A basic interest, and engagement, in politics is a first step to whether people decide to vote or not. We tried to get an idea of how many of the Leaders, and young people in general, would define themselves as “interested” in politics.

“I am interested, but it all goes a bit over my head”

“Yes, young people may not be interested in politicians, but I think they’re interested in what politicians do.”

“The image of politics is that it’s ‘out there’, not on your doorstep, yet so many things are political!”

The Leaders then watched this video, the premise of which is that everything is political. Many of them agreed that while Politics could be dull or confusing, political issues affect all parts of life. The problem being that making this point is often difficult when all we really see of politics is a bunch of people arguing in a big old chamber.

We then went for the Big Ask. “Do you think young people should be able to vote at 16?”. We anticipated that this could be controversial, and we were right – a debate ensued!

Some of the Leaders thought that at 16, young people are very impressionable and thus could be manipulated into voting.

“I was WAY too impressionable at 16.”

“I personally don’t think that many 16 year old would be that clued to vote, i know i wouldn’t have been.”

But others pointed out that this is no different from the rest of the population, and that voting is voluntary.

“Fair enough, a lot of 16 year olds might not understand a lot of politics or be able to make a decision, but then a lot of the adult voting population don’t know/don’t understand/don’t vote. Does that change anything?”

“If you don’t understand or don’t want to; don’t vote. It’s not compulsory”.

There was a feeling that if young people have the option to vote at 16, they might engage more actively in politics. After all, some see little point in wasting time learning about something they can’t change.

“I would have made more of an effort to be in-the-know, if I could actually vote.”

“If the option had been there, I definitely would have voted.”

Age discrepancies were also a big issue. Is it fair that 16/17 year olds can be taxed and join the army but not vote?

“I do take issue with the fact you can join the army at 16, but not vote”

“Here, go get killed, but don’t vote! Don’t drink!”

“16 year olds have to pay taxes too…”

There was also the argument that perhaps ages should be standardised upwards – something that could tie in with the new longer compulsory school, where young people will have to be in education or training until 18.

“I agree about the army thing…but I’d be pro raising the age to sign up with them too!”

Lowering the voting age has been discussed for years now. It’s still not a lot less controversial – as the Leaders clearly showed us. There was an overwhelming consensus, however, about getting the education right. If we want young people to engage, we must give them the tools to engage; this is something that perhaps is being missed. But worth considering also is that over the past few years young people do seem to have become more politicised. The big student demos of last year, sixth form walk outs and occupations, huge turnouts in UKYP elections and lots of young people engaged in politics in places where we’re used to seeing the Old Guard of beardy men.

TheSite.org offers a broad-minded approach to politics that helps young people engage without biasing their view.