If you are reading this article, I imagine you have some specific characteristics. You are probably interested in politics, at least more so than the average person your age, and speaking of age, you are probably young. You might care about the parties, the grand ideals, or perhaps it is the technical policy that matters to you. I know many young people who exist in all of these categories.
You will likely have heard before that you are the future of politics. It is common to hear this in youth parliaments and youth councils, but the same message also comes from the political figures we admire. And what they say is true for you more than most people your age. As someone invested in party politics, as a member of a youth council, the progression into real politics is much more natural. It is an extension of the norm rather than something extraordinary.
Of course, I think it is fair to say that most people your age are aware that they will inherit the world. But far fewer people anticipate taking responsibility for it. Out of ambition or duty, I think that those of us with a direct interest in politics are more likely to enter into it, whether as civil servants, commentators, representatives, or any other part of the system.
I do not mean to sound triumphant, or to suggest that we have some right to rule that less politically-engaged young people do not. I think that all of us with a direct interest should be cautious of assuming our place in the system. With that said, I think it is realistic to say that young people with an interest in something are more likely to have a career that relates to that interest. And when it comes to politics, those people are comparatively few.
It is to this few that this article is addressed. I think that as we begin to inherit the political system we must be careful not to repeat the mistakes of our predecessors. And though we may assume we know more about politics than our peers, I think that as people so close to the system, we are the least likely to recognise the issues that are so obvious from afar.
I recently saw a video of a speech by a member of the UK Youth Parliament, delivered in the House of Commons. When it first appeared on my Instagram feed, I did not check who posted it, and assumed it was from one of the members of youth parliament that I follow. But when I saw that it had over twenty thousand likes, and when I noticed that it was posted by a meme account, and when I read the caption: “I didn’t really care about the Youth Parliament until I saw this clip. Now I am firmly anti-Youth Parliament” – then I realised I was looking at this, for the first time, from the outside.
The speech was eloquent. It is telling of my own perspective that the eloquence was the first thing I noticed, because it seemed that other things stood out to the commenters: the southern English accent, the suits and ties, the absence of manual workers and normal people more broadly. Instagram comments will obviously be a case of selection bias, because only the most opinionated are driven to comment, but even so, I think the video brought me back to reality.
As the Member implored his peers to “be the flame leading to a brighter future”, I could not help but imagine what that must have looked like to someone uninvolved in youth politics. To the commenters, it was not a rallying cry for a better tomorrow, but an echo of yesterday, more of the “empty rhetoric” we have come to expect from politicians. I am sure the Member had good intentions, but that does not matter. In our involvement with the system, even in our attempts to challenge it, we have come to resemble its parts.
It is ironic because of course the Member was calling for the system to be challenged, for those of us with ambition and involvement to lead this change. I agree with him in principle. But when this effort takes the form of a speech in those same green pews, when it is delivered with received pronunciation, when grand metaphors are used and when of course there are no “bricklaying apprentices and scaffolders” in the chamber, it is so easy, and even logical, to assume that there is not going to be any change at all.
As established, I think the Member was right to say that we have a role to play; as young people who are disproportionately likely to enter politics, we must try to make it for the better. But we must not let this ambition and sense of purpose blind us to the reality that we could so easily become the very problems that we first set out to address.
These problems are more evident from the outside, and though I think their anger was misplaced, the commenters were well aware of them. Privilege and detachment are toxic but they are common in politics. It is true that most politicians are not representative of the average person, and that is also true of youth politicians. It is the opposite case of selection bias: only the most politically interested and opinionated are driven to participate.
In this way, it is easy for us to become detached. Whether as a result of our aspiration towards greatness, our admiration towards the greats of the past, or as a result of our like-minded company, we can forget that most people our age are not really like us. They care little for the blazing speeches, the panelled halls, the party cards. They just hope to be well-represented so that they can have a better life. I admire them for their apathy, and while the political among us may better understand the pressing issues that face our country, the less political are much better placed to see the issues inherent in the system, issues that we risk perpetuating.
In our desire for progress we must not forget those who the progress is ultimately meant to serve, the people, unlike us, who are most likely to struggle under the system. So let that be my advice. Engage with the people who are not like you, especially if you disagree, even more so if you think they are misinformed. They have more to tell you than you know, so proceed with humility. Step back so you can see clearly where your ambition is taking you. Perhaps it is a better place, a brighter tomorrow. But do not let that tomorrow look like today, and do not fight fire with flames. Make it anew, in your image: make it youthful, do not make it old.