We asked over 200 young people who attend a Nacro education centre service or live in our supported housing a range of questions. We will publish the full survey results soon but we wanted to share a few statistic early.
Less than a quarter (23%) said they planned to vote in this or any future election.
A stark statistic. When we spoke to them they told us things like ‘they’re all the same’, ‘what’s the point?’, ‘nothing will change’. The young people we surveyed and spoke tend to live in low-income and deprived areas, 60% of them were on free school meals, many had struggled to finish school.
They are the ones living at the coalface of the many of the policies and decisions made by Westminster on education, youth services, public spending, crime, welfare, health. Yet nearly three-quarters (73%) feel people who run the country never or rarely listen to them or people living a similar life to them. Over two-thirds (69%) also say that politicians never or rarely talk about things that matter to them. This is a shocking level of disengagement.
These young people are the future of our country. They are the leaders, the builders, the changers we need to truly thrive as a society. It is a depressing reality that at such a young age they have given up on the politics and feel that politics has given up on them. It’s incumbent on whoever forms the next Government to listen to and involve young people, to understand their needs, and to keep them at the heart of the decisions they will take.
