Hearing Young Voices

I don’t personally buy the argument that politics is stale. The issues are as vibrant and vital as ever – they affect all our lives after all. No doubt there has been an erosion of trust in politicians in recent years because of divisive foreign policy decisions. But the issues, the causes and the choices in politics are still there, waiting to be taken up again by future generations.

The terms of the debate will need to change to draw young people in. The whole stuffed-shirt atmosphere of Parliament may appeal to tourists and fuddy-duddies, but if any politician alive today is serious about changing the country for the better and enthusing young people in the process, then the way Parliament is conducted must change.

Out with the tribal slanging matches, which are too often excused as ‘political theatre’. In with reasoned, relevant debate which touches on real lives, explains as it goes along and allows young people to make a considered choice.

To engage the young in the first place, the political media has to expand to accommodate the young. The dull, middle-aged men in grey suits blathering away outside Number 10 need to move over sometimes for some younger journos, who know how to express politics through the language of young people. That doesn’t mean dumbing down, it means sharpening up, keeping it real.

And if the faces on our screens need to change, then so too should the faces on the benches of Parliament and in council chambers across the country. Let the young people stand, to speak up for their peers. I want to see teenage councillors and eventually teenage MPs ready to speak out when young people are unfairly demonised by the media that trades on the prejudices of older people.

Let’s prepare young people for those roles – or jobs in areas like teaching or the law – with debating societies in every school, starting in the last years in primary school. Think what debating skills could do to unlock the potential of so many youngsters, as well as boosting speaking and negotiation skills.

Let’s encourage parents to take more interest in politics too, encourage discussing issues at the dinner table or around the TV. Parents crucially need to understand that if they badmouth or switch off around politics and current affairs, that sends out a very negative message to the kids. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard young people say ‘politicians are all the same, they’re only in it for themselves.’ It’s a sweeping statement and a cliché, too often trotted out by parents who came to that conclusion from the media.

Back to the media. We can do a lot to change perceptions of politics if we choose. Actually, it’s more than a choice, it’s a duty. If media outlets want to reflect the totality of everyday life, the missing element at the moment is politics for young people. Where are the political shows aimed at the young?

Let’s see some produced to appeal to young people. Use sharp editing and music, humour and all the rest of it, but first and foremost, appeal to the sense of social justice that exists in every young person. Let’s have phone-ins and Question Time style debates. Let’s use TV, radio and the web to allow young people their own say in putting the world to rights.