It started with our current prime minister calling a snap election in the pouring rain. Pathetic fallacy if I ever saw it. Since then, blunder after blunder – and now scandal after scandal – have plagued the Conservative Party campaign. The team in charge of Rishi Sunak’s optics must be double agents working for Keir Starmer. But if the polls are to be believed, Starmer will in any case soon be our next prime minister. As a young person, nothing about this excites me, or my friends.
From Starmer’s treatment of socialist members of his own party to his position on Gaza; from his rolling back of green commitments to his confusing position on gender identity; and with his robotic responses to questions that duck the real answer (“my dad was a tool maker”), the Labour package being presented to us is far from inspiring. In light of the pending ‘landslide’, whatever decision I make on voting, I find myself wondering why I should turn out to vote on 4 July. So I asked my friends if I was alone in this.
What will inspire young people to vote in this election?
While I cannot speak on behalf of all young people in the UK, there are some major commonalities that Generation Z (born 1997–2012) and Millennials (born 1980–1996) believe in. Most notably, housing prices, climate change, the Israel–Hamas war, job security and wages and the state of the NHS. But it is the Zillennials that do not feel heard in the election campaign.
The demographic cohort on the edge of the Millennial and Generation Z cohort named ‘Zillennials’ are the microgeneration born between 1992 and 1998. Between the ages of 25 and 31, we are the group of young people still trying to move out of our parents’ houses, fighting for higher wages and job security, while still wanting to be vigilant on climate change. With so much riding on our futures, we are savvy, knowledgeable and under no illusions when it comes to the highly produced political campaign we are currently living through.
Oh, Jeremy Corbyn
Despite the failures of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party, at least he inspired some of the younger voters. He appealed to those not necessarily interested in politics, those who found politics was not for them. When grime artist Stormzy pledged his support for Labour, stating that Corbyn was the “first man in a position of power who is committed to giving the power back”, he spoke for many of us.
In 2017, Corbyn took to the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury and delivered a speech that touched on nationwide poverty and paid tribute to victims of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, which had taken place only two days before. Chants of “Oh, Jeremy Corbyn” were sung in the same style as the opening of the White Stripes’ ‘Seven Nation Army’. It was a cultural phenomenon.
Two years later, the Glastonbury crowd cried out, “F*** the government, f*** Boris.”
How was Corbyn able to spark something in younger voters where Starmer hasn’t? I feel as if I am still waiting for fireworks from either party to inspire us. We do not wish to blindly follow politicians, and there is a strong sense of apathy across the Zillennial generation – ‘anyone but the Tories’ feels like the catchphrase of this election.
Statesman-like? Or both unbelievably bland?
With Covid’s Partygate and 14 years of austerity, and with the polls reporting a Labour ‘super majority’, one would think that it may be easy for those voters on the fence to make their mind up. However, according to a poll published by the Independent on 9 June, one in five voters have already decided they will abstain. More worryingly, a third of young people say they won’t vote. What is truly behind all this political apathy?
Out of curiosity, I asked a few of my friends what their thoughts were on Sunak and Starmer, and whether they were planning to vote in the general election. As a snapshot, these responses were fairly representative of those I asked:
On Sunak – Absolutely disgusting, makes me violently ill. I don’t think that someone with that much money should run the country. Incredibly racist. Disgraceful and so out of touch. Slimy and out of touch, but he’s a Tory, so that’s to be expected.
On Starmer – He’s a Conservative in red. He has no policies and is just reacting. There is no true vision from him. Tory in sheep’s clothing. Uninspiring and bland. I don’t think he’s doing much about the environment – that is where we need to see real change. I don’t trust Starmer. I feel like he has taken a progressive party more backwards and to the right.
Personality politics vs policy politics
So, with neither leader getting any positive feedback from the Zillennials I contacted, I wondered whether we’d become too fussy and focused on personality rather than policy.
Mia, 27, a PR executive living in Lambeth North, told me:
“I am not inspired to vote for any party. I think, unless you are all in, interested in politics, you are naturally going to vote for a person that most aligns to your values rather than the party. People connect with people. Politicians are a vehicle for us as citizens to voice our ideas. The personality of the person is important.”
I think the apathy from my generation is a true cocktail of not fully understanding the system, not trusting politicians, and not feeling like MPs are considering what young people want and need. But perhaps some of these politicians are unaware of this, especially when the media are spinning this election to be a landslide for Labour and saying the young vote will be the clincher to secure such a victory.
Nevertheless, the statistics are clear: young people have lost faith in the democratic system. Research conducted by the British Youth Council found that, in 2023, “71% of young people don’t feel that political parties speak directly to young people in the lead-up to elections”. Moreover, during the last election, the 18–24 group only had a 54% voter turnout.
Café manager Hannah, 25, based in the southwest of Surrey, told me:
“I will be voting, but I am feeling far more apathetic towards the election than I have previously. I think both Rishi and Keir are uninspiring and bland. There’s no, like, big charismatic politician in this election and there’s no real suspense or questioning what will happen. I think nothing will change regardless of who wins.”
Can’t be bothered to change – climate change
While asking what is important to my peers, I found that climate change and the environment was an issue we care about but do not see reflected in the election conversation.
Matthew, 24, from Winchester told me:
“I don’t like what either of them are doing when it comes to the environment. Starmer has been disappointing. I don’t think Keir is doing much when it comes to the environment. We desperately need more focus on net zero. We need dramatic change in the area (environment) and it is just not happening. Keir has ditched that 28 million climate change pledge, got rid of it in back in February.”
Matthew seemed frustrated. “No one seems to care about green issues, not in the way they think they do.” Why? I asked – “Because people hate change. They hate the idea of changing their lifestyle, their diet. A lot of people don’t want to make these sacrifices and change their habits.”
This has to be addressed. We cannot just ignore the extreme weather, or air pollution, and focus solely on tax or immigration. I truly am confused how this has not had more airtime during debates or been spotlighted in the media.
To vote or not to vote – that is the question …
It is not unusual for people to switch from party to party from election to election, but when trust in politicians seem to be at a catastrophic low, can either party get the attention of the young vote?
Biology teacher Emma, 26, who lives 19 miles south of central London, told me: “I will be voting because I feel quite strongly I should not take it for granted. I am only inspired by the Greens but I’m in a Conservative stronghold so must vote tactically.”
I’d assumed that Starmer’s Labour Party especially had a chance to inspire us Zillennials – with bright new ideas on how to address the issues that are not only important to us, but are the most pressing issues facing the country. We want meaningful change and a glimmer of hope that our future may include a house that we could call our own. But instead, I feel more politically homeless than before the election began.
