Trip to the Polling Station

So its been three days since the general election in the UK and we still don’t know the exact outcome (although a strange pact between the Conservatives and DUP looks likely!). What we do know is that it’s well hung (sorry, I couldn't resist!).
I voted last Thursday, taking all three of my kids along with me! My 8 year old and 6 year old were particularly excited about our trip to the polling station. They peered over my shoulder (I deliberately chose a booth with a low table) as I marked an X on my ballot paper, they looked at the ballot box with a mix of wonder and intrigue, and then they proceeded to grill me about my vote. They wanted to know who I had voted for, what their policies were and why they were better than opposition. I felt like I was in the hot seat on Question Time!

Politically Aware

But despite sweating under the volume of their questions while juggling a chubby 9 month old baby from arm to arm, I was proud of their growing interest in politics. I hope that they continue to be politically aware and know how politics affects their lives and how they can affect politics.
During this election I noticed a change in the voting demographic. Many people who were queuing up at my local polling station were young voters. Almost 250,000 young people registered to vote ahead of the deadline for Thursday’s election, up from 137,400 on the last day of registrations in 2015. An NME-led exit poll of young voters in the 2017 UK general election shows a markedly increased turnout for 18-24 year-olds, with a majority of the youth opting for Labour.

Young Voters

It's safe to say that Teresa May’s election campaign was a huge flop. Jeremy Corbyn on the other hand, positioned himself as the young person’s candidate, championing popular policies such as the abolition of tuition fees. What also boosted his campaign was support on social media and heavy celebrity endorsement, including grime musicians JME and Stormzy. A #Grime4Corbyn campaign did the rounds on social media with a new website promising free tickets to a secret grime show for anyone registering to vote. Mobo award-winning rapper and poet Akala wrote a balanced essay last month on how, despite not being a Labour supporter, he would be voting for Corbyn in the election. There's a lot to be said in how musicians can still inspire and inform their fans.

Political change

The youth of today sometimes get a bad rep for living in a bubble where life is dictated by how many likes their Insta Face selfie got, so it's refreshing to see people in their late teens and early twenties take an interest in the way that the country is being governed. As Jeremy Corbyn said to Jme in a televised conversation “Political change doesn't always come from politicians, does it?”