One of the brilliant members of Northern Gas Networks’ Young Innovators Council 2024, Emilia, shares her thoughts on the recent change in government…
“The result of the General Election with Labour taking control of our government will have an effect on everyone living in the UK, including young people.
Labour has made many promises and aims to fulfil regarding young people and things they aim to put in place in order to keep their promise to our lives.
For example, I think one of Labour’s key promises to invest £95m in Young Future Hubs, run by youth workers, mental health support workers, and careers advisers and designed to support young people’s mental health and reduce levels of children being drawn into crime is an amazing goal and would have a great impact for young people across the UK as long as this promise is fulfilled.
In addition, other key pledges include £175m for mental health support and the provision of mental health professionals in every school which would impact young people massively – this additional help and support is much needed.
I also believe that giving young people aged 16 and 17 the right to vote could have both positive and negative impacts. As less than half of 18-24 year olds voted in the recent election, extending the voting age lower to 16 year olds will most likely only have a very small impact due to 18-24 year olds not exercising their right to vote. This suggests that either most young people do not take an interest in politics or they don’t feel the need to vote. Research carried out in 2021 shows those aged under 25 were the most politically active age group and are more likely to sign petitions, join campaigns or share political content online so therefore they have the potential to pack a political punch however unfortunately they still haven’t exercised their right to vote in the General Election.
I view the rise of female political figures and the fact Labour also has a stronger track record of women-friendly policies than the other parties very positively and think this is something both young and older women will greatly appreciate and feel this is needed in modern day politics. Also, when Labour was last in government they tackled low pay for women as the introduction of the minimum wage affected more women than men. They also introduced other policies such as abolishing VAT on sanitary products. These measures directly attributed to the rise of women in parliament. Labour does however struggle to be inclusive of women who are working class, from ethnic minorities, or who have caring responsibilities but the work Labour has done to improve women’s lives is significant and I hope Labour will continue to do so. MPs such as Jess Phillips recently stood up for women by bringing attention to the fact intimidation and harassment in this election was worse than she has ever experienced. The trend of abuse of female candidates in the UK is persistent and poses a threat to democracy.
Labour has some inspirational MPs and promises positive changes for young people. I hope these are actioned and seen through in the near future.”