This year has seen a political shift across the world, with influential powers like the US and the UK having general elections that have brought in new leaders. In this piece, we’ll explore why young people should exercise their right to vote, the barriers they face, and how their participation is essential in creating a political landscape that truly represents society’s diverse needs.
Throughout history, young people have often been the most outspoken and progressive about society and politics. However, in an era of division and culture wars, young people seem to be spread far apart in the political sphere. Many young people sit on the far left or far right or may not vote at all.
During the 2024 UK General Election, fewer than half of 18-24-year-olds exercised their right to vote, according to the BBC. I have found in my research there are a multitude of reasons for why this. The first is that many young people don’t know who to vote for and don’t see it as a right they have.
When speaking with Ashlyn Mukiibi, 19, who cast her vote in July for the first time. She decided to do this, only after encouragement from other friends, “My family don’t vote, so I never really thought about it. My friends told me I should start looking into it, so I did my own research.”
In families where parents don’t vote or voting isn’t discussed in local schools, young people are not necessarily interested in casting a ballot.
Another factor in voting turnout, in general, can be socioeconomic background. IPPR found last December that the gap between wealthier voters and poorer voters was the largest since 1964.
In their research, they found that “Nine in every ten people in the top third of the income distribution voted in the two most recent elections compared to only seven in the bottom third.” This is due to the large turnout gap in elections and the important role money now has in British politics.
When speaking with Benjamin Wear, a Lib-Dem councillor for Surrey, he emphasised the importance of young people voting and doing their own research into the parties, “They need to keep researching, reach out to anybody and everybody within any party. What will politics look like in five years time? What does it mean to them for tuition fees? What does it mean for the planet? It’s really important that they ask those questions and get out there and vote.”
Whilst many young people aren’t voting, the ones that are sit far apart on the political scale. Across Europe and the US, the right is rapidly gaining popularity, especially among young people. Social media has played a big role in this, especially on apps like X, which platform creators and people who push polarising content.
When Elon Musk bought Twitter, before renaming it X, he restored many accounts that were banned due to hate speech. These included Katie Hopkins, Donald Trump, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, Laurence Fox and, Tommy Robinson and Andrew Tate.
Many of these creators and public figures use their content to attract young men; they often push conservative values, which centre men.
Studies have shown that some young men feel left out of conversations had by the left and are questioning where their role in society is now.
There is also a rise in suicide rates, especially among men, due to unhappiness and high levels of anxiety. “Today’s youth are unhappier than older generations” because of the perception that “mainstream parties have failed to deliver on social issues”, Andrea Gerosa, founder of the Think Young think tank, told Euro News.”
Equally, some young people sit on the left side of politics. YouTube channel, ‘Jubilee’, has become a platform solely for left and right-leaning young people to ‘debate’ and disagree over their differing political views. These videos have millions of views and perpetuate the idea that young people cannot find common ground due to their differing views.
There is a danger with this increase of division among young voters, and we are already seeing the dangerous repercussions of this. On January 6th 2021, the Capitol building in America was stormed by right-wing Republicans, and this past summer, there were dangerous race riots across the UK.
The value of independent research is more important than ever, and creating division and isolation is what will push young people further away from voting. Voting is a right we all have and should all utilise to see change and have a say in our futures.