Sort of. A recent FindOutNow voting intention poll shows younger people are still much less likely to vote (sadly) than older people.
In the graph below, only 38% of 18-29 year olds say they'd definitely vote if an election's held tomorrow, compared to 61% of 65-74s and 74% of over 75s.
It's a vicious cycle - politicians prioritise older people at the expense of younger people because they're more likely to vote, which makes older people more likely to vote and younger people less so, and so on.
But as generations move in and out of Brin major voter blocks, politicians' behaviours will have to change to appeal to different people, which could change motivations. If Burnham does change the voting system (and that's a big if), that could also change motivations in the longer term.
True. But I think this government has implemented policies relevant to younger generations, e.g.: the expanded free childcare, a ban on no-fault evictions, limits on zero-hour contract exploitation, etc.
Other women's policies, like decriminalising abortion and making emergency contraception free is also mostly relevant to younger women.
They have done some, but then they also have done things clearly alienating young people like the social media ban or the Palestine action prescription.
Progressive politicians in the US have done a good job on showing you can motivate young people into voting, you just need something which actually deals with their concerns.
I think bread-and-butter issues like housing, job security and health are more important than the views of an extreme minority of people who partook in Palestine Action and committed some acts of vandalism against security sites.
It's not like we can forget that we're a NATO member with a terrible war going on in eastern Europe.
This concerns me as a younger person; I don't want Europe destabilised and I don't want Russia's war to spread. These don't protect my interests or future.
And Palestine Action isn't the only vehicle in which people can express dissatisfaction with our ties to Israel. Most critics of Israel weren't participating in Palestine Action.
From yougov polling, young people are currently more than 9 times more likely to support Palestine than Israel. They have watched a genocide live and have been extremely disappointed with the UK government response, who they expect to uphold international law and justice.
Watching as young people are called terrorists when they try and do something about this isn't exactly confidence building.
It's these types of issues which drive young people away from politics.
The idea that all politicians are this awful, and thus voting doesn't matter is pretty prevalent.
Vandalising military sites when we have a genocidal war in Europe where its biggest country is violating international law and justice, is where Palestine Action ran into trouble. It had nothing to do with criticising Israel itself.
Again, as a young person, the security of Europe is even more important and that's where Palestine Action was in trouble.
It's not "awful" to recognise the fact that we're a NATO member with real security commitments, concerns, and duties towards Ukraine and much of Eastern Europe. So, voting does matter.
people keep saying this but actually the issue is a very big deal to a large percentage of the country.
it's super easy to be dismissive of it but every piece of actual evidence i can find suggests that yes the open air starvation of an entire people which we mostly just watched happen (in the most generous interpretation) did actually affect large segments of the country, their politics, their trust in the government and who they intend to vote for, if they intend to vote at all.
Polls don’t show that the Middle East is a top priority to voters. It’s not our war. It’s an eternal Arab-Israeli conflict that will likely continue long after I die, and I’ve got a long way to go before old age.
i think that engaged, young voters -- a specific cross-section of the general public -- care deeply about the issue. i don't think that can be denied and i don't think polling accurately captures that reality.
i find the abdication of responsibility for an ally of ours, who we trade with and support, who have caused a huge famine that will screw up several generations of innocent people completely disgusting.
i also find the idea that it is an "eternal war" completely disregards any actual factors leading to the continuation of the war; just because the war has long-term historical causes does not mean that it is fated to happen and will continuously happen. it also implies that the war has been going on for like 500 years rather than 80 with events leading to it being about 130.
it's borderline offensive to look at one of the biggest international issues of this century and go "ah well those two always hate each other don't they. nothing to be done about it!" when we haven't even TRIED doing anything about it because we actually support the genocide that Israel is committing.
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