Hana Suleman, a Skircoat resident and co-chair of the Yorkshire and Humber Young Greens writes:
‘For many young people, getting into politics seems synonymous with playing a round of golf: slow, boring and predominantly filled with the older generation. And while I don’t have an issue with the sport itself (although I am more partial to football), it’s time this outdated game of politics undergoes a radical transition making us lighter on our feet, faster and most importantly more exciting. Now more than ever, young people are feeling disconnected within our country: we have no one to fight for us; no one who seems to truly care and no real change on the cards. And with our futures looking as bleak as ever, it’s time for the left to step up and start engaging this under-represented generation. Fail to do so and you may as well just score an own goal …
‘I cannot even begin to emphasise the importance of the younger generation becoming more involved in politics and while to most people this may look like a ballot paper or attending a protest, I would argue that the latter is useless without a solid foundation, in simpler terms: a quality education. Only 1 in 5 secondary schools teach any political literacy forcing students to rely solely on social media (which if you haven’t noticed is certainly not the Greens strong point). And so, while the importance of a more aware younger generation is growing more pressing than ever, the number of opportunities we get within our education system leave us ill-prepared and exposed as if there is a giant target on our back, shot at by the likes of Farage.
‘At the ripe age of 16, I can guarantee 99% of my classmates have never heard of Carla Denyer or Adrian Ramsay; the majority of them don’t know the main political parties in the UK and more scarily I’ve encountered numerous people who don’t even know who the prime minister is! Considering that I attend a grammar school, which hypothetically should have higher achieving students, I think you can see the damage that has been done. Ask any of us to solve trigonometry, binomial expansion, or my personal favourite, write an account of how to carry out a titration, then you’ll be met with a myriad of green ticks but when it comes to the simpler question of who on earth is running our country, I’m afraid the answer is much harder to come by.
‘But as a left-wing party who offer many solutions to the life of struggling teenagers, it is vital that we raise our voice and up our game. Let’s be honest in the eyes of most teenagers: we’re not an exciting party, we don’t bring the same energy as the strutting peacocks known as Reform, neither do we bring their following, and if we’re not careful we’re going to be left with a future generation riddled with division and false hopes. The alternative? Let’s take the use of social media seriously-not as a volunteering approach but as a full-time job; let’s promote exciting new policies; engage with various members of the communities and come up with hand-picked policies that benefit local areas. It’s true finance and the media aren’t on our side but if we’re going to have any chance of winning the game of politics, we need to be able to play it. And that means starting from the bottom.
‘Young people are facing the brunt of Tory and Labour austerity more harshly than ever before. In 1985 the average house price was £28,000, now it lies at £241,000. The average car has gone up from £6000 to £16,000 and don’t even get me started on University tuition fees: the grand sum of £0 compared with a minimum of £9000 a year (multiply that by 3 or 4 and add on rent, well you can do the maths). The building blocks of success are being ripped out of young people’s own hands creating a sense of disengagement. But where these feelings of despair are found, one doesn’t have to search far for anger and resentment, which is what the Greens need to take advantage of when securing a young person’s vote. It may not be the positive approach we’re hoping for, but you only have to look at Reform to see how successful it can be. Take myself for instance, it wasn’t my love for green politics that brought me to the party, it was my hatred at the government’s response to the ongoing genocide in Gaza, an area which I’m proud to say the Greens have always stood firmly and decisively.
‘So, I ask you the question, do you want a green prime minister running our country? Because if the answer is yes, then I’m afraid it’s my generation who are your best bet and, as co-chair of the Yorkshire and Humber Young Greens, the support we’re offered by our elder peers is basically non-existent. The education system may have failed us, but luckily parties like the Greens still have a chance. We should be the ones seeking out the younger vote — not them seeking us out — so let’s pick up the ball and instead of passing it onto Reform, run headfirst to victory. We CAN do this. I know we can but the time to act is NOW.’