Hi everyone! What’s been on your minds during the election campaign so far?
Shaniya Odulawa, 23, graduate, Bexleyheath: The major parties are failing to engage with what people really want. They’re constantly missing the mark.
Hassan Ali, 19, student, Ilford: So true, I feel like it just shows they’re either lazy, or almost like avoiding the real issues.
On the manifestos
Tiger-Lily Snowdon, 19, student, Devon: I’ve been looking through the manifestos and definitely feel quite let down by the major parties on many issues like social care, the environment. The smaller parties have bigger ideas on these areas (perhaps because they know they won’t get in and don’t have to worry about actually implementing them?).
Daniel Cadel, 23, student, Cheshire: Does concern me that politics seems to have shifted right, Labour are more centre-right at the moment and the only leftwing parties are Lib Dem and Green.
Niall Hignett, 21, student, Durham: I think the arguments about Labour lurching to the right are a bit overhyped. To me, Labour’s manifesto seems fairly convincing, even if it’s more refined than it’s been in the past.
Shaniya: What part is convincing to you? For me, many of their policies either cannot be funded or are not feasible at all.
Paris Haigh, 22, student and organiser with Green New Deal Rising, East Kilbride: In regards to the environment they sound OK eg GB Energy. However they already watered down their £28bn green pledge and have U-turned on most of their previous commitments, so I really cannot trust them.
Niall: The housing policy, in particular, I’m behind. I don’t think it’s uncosted (I’d understand criticism of it being somewhat unambitious). Encouraging capital investment in infrastructure could be huge for young people in particular.
Daniel: GB Energy sounds like a great policy as it is similar to how Norway works, but when they watered it down it made me lose all support for them. With housing policy, I don’t believe any of the parties. We’ve had targets for years and I swear they’ve not been met.
Niall: I agree it’s been disappointing for years. Labour’s rhetoric is by far the strongest. I’m hopeful the planning reform will be implemented in full. If not it will be a massive disappointment.
On Reform
Bethan Williams, 23, account executive, Cardiff: I’ve been concerned about the rise of Reform UK since Nigel Farage returned to the leadership. Their views on immigration are deeply harmful and it’s quite saddening to see them stoking tensions to further their own political agenda.
Daniel: I find it insane there’s been no real pushback at Nigel saying they want zero net migration. Not only is it terrible as a policy, it clearly isn’t possible in any way. Half the issue is people making claims and the presenters not countering them.
Paris: It’s scary how many comments I’ve seen under videos reminding people to register to vote saying “vote reform”.
Bethan: I see this on TikToks all the time, it’s definitely scary to see.
Tiger-Lily: It’s really scary, especially with the polls showing such an increase in support for them. I didn’t seriously believe that people would vote for them at first but it’s glaringly obvious now that they’ve built a substantial support base.
Niall: Lots of those accounts are bots. TikTok is scary the way it sometimes pushes very specific content towards specific demographics. I remember seeing how it pushed Andrew Tate for boys under 16, really scary. Reform bots should be being monitored and reported on more closely.
Shaniya: When I click on the profiles there’s nothing ever there. The problem is even if they’re bots they still drive engagement.
On the housing crisis
Niall: Labour’s plan is to build on the “grey belt” (non-green bits of the greenbelt). We need to protect the environment, but field mice and disused car parks shouldn’t come above affordable housing imo.
Shaniya: I’m aware I just feel like there doesn’t always need to be a focus on building when we have the properties already there. I don’t think enough has been said about renters for example. The renting crisis is crazy right now. I don’t think I’ll be able to comfortably leave home until I’m 30 😭.
Hassan: We’re all around 18-21 here right? Because, yes, this is genuinely scary.
Tiger-Lily: If they want to attract youth voters, tackling the renting crisis would be a sensible move.
Hassan: We have to choose between staying at home for much longer than we’d want or giving a frankly unfair amount to landlords.
Shaniya: When I compare my early 20s to my mum’s I can’t help feeling a bit robbed.
Bethan: This isn’t helped by the fact that I have an undergrad and postgrad student loan. The money I pay back this year I could be using to save up for a deposit on a house.
Niall: I’m a student and estranged from my parents, so I don’t have the option to just live at home for longer. The current situation is terrifying – especially when it comes to the safety net. Under 25s don’t even qualify for full benefits or proper housing support.
Shaniya: We are in the exact same situation. Currently camping out in my uni house till September. No idea what I will do after.
Niall: Bleak, isn’t it? You have to try to save and get a lower min wage and no real additional support in uni. No support really once you’ve left university. It’s very sink or swim.
Shaniya: Literally no support. Finishing uni is supposed to be exciting but I’m just full of dread.
On education
Daniel: The whole way university is dealt with should be reformed, colleges basically push you to go as it looks good for them (at least mine did) and then once you finish you get no support.
Bethan: I don’t think the removal of “Mickey Mouse degrees” will fix this. Every degree is valid with the correct support and development opportunities.
Shaniya: People who do “Mickey Mouse degrees” create the things we love. Movies, TV shows, music things that we actually enjoy and that make our life worth living.
Bethan: This is what I find so frustrating about how the Conservatives have handled this. They’ve belittled certain degree subjects but failed to provide a suitable alternative for young people. I studied history which at times has been referred to as a Mickey Mouse degree. But now I work a Stem job – there is no set pathway for young people.
Niall: I think the honest answer with uni fees (and I know this isn’t popular) is fees need to go up. 78% never repay in full at current anyway. Upping fees means unis don’t go under, and it won’t affect most people, just those who borrow the least and earn the most. The arguments are frustrating, I want to see long-term reform, but in the short term, unis need more money, and fee increases seem to be the only viable option.
Daniel: It doesn’t exactly help the unis having the principal and other board members on extreme salaries when they don’t seem to do much at all.
Bethan: This was such an issue when it came to the university staff strikes. My friends couldn’t understand where their money was going if university staff weren’t getting paid enough.
Tiger-Lily: The education system – especially how it works for people who have special educational needs, or are neurodivergent or disabled – needs to change. I was out of school for a long period because they couldn’t accommodate my needs and finally got the support I needed at a medical inclusion school – but because of lack of funding and spaces, I had to wait ages for the provision to be put in place. I was quite disappointed by the lack of suggestions to improve SEND education in the manifestos.
Paris: I had a similar experience and because I was out of school for so long I sank into depression. I know the SNP are planning on passing a neurodivergency bill. They did meet with neurodivergent people who had input in the bill. If it does pass and benefit people it should be put into every party’s manifesto. And should be the same with all disabilities, as right now disabled people are really being let down.
Niall: I agree! I just think in terms of priorities – free university can’t come before other major issues, so won’t be achieved in the next parliament, but saving institutions from going bust can happen.
On who to vote for
Shaniya: Does everyone know who they are voting for?
Daniel: I’m voting Lib Dem as I feel their manifesto is the most interesting. And I trust Keir and Reeves as far as I could throw them.
Bethan: I’m going to be voting tactically as I have an awful Conservative MP, meaning I’ll likely vote Labour. But I’m more closely aligned with the Green party or Plaid Cymru on key issues.
Tiger-Lily: I’m torn between Lib Dem and Labour. I was most impressed by the Lib Dem manifesto but I also really don’t want my Conservative MP to get back in so voting Labour may be better.
Paris: I’m considering Greens 💚. My constituency candidate seems really good and I agree with lots of their policies. I would have voted SNP but since they announced they are dropping their climate targets I can’t trust them right now 😭.
Niall: I’m definitely voting Labour. The Lib Dem manifesto is a bit all over the place. It tries to play both sides (the shires and progressive voters). The Greens’ manifesto strikes me as just unrealistic. The whole anti-nuclear power thing seems so counter-productive. They do the same thing as the Lib Dems – go for Conservative voters in the home counties and liberal voters in the cities – and it doesn’t work for coherent policy.
Shaniya: Loads of people I know are abstaining completely in this election. I don’t wish to but I’m not convinced by any party right now. It’s usually Labour or Green but I’ve truly lost faith, especially since the Greens’ statement on Palestine – if you can’t fully condemn a genocide what do you really stand for?
Paris: Something that every party needs to be doing right NOW is calling for an immediate ceasefire 🇵🇸.
On young people in this election
Do you guys feel spoken to by any of the parties as young people?
Daniel: I wouldn’t say I’m being spoken to by any party. The fact I most align with Lib Dem at the moment when their primary voter base is middle-aged southern and middle-class people when I’m neither really shows that.
Paris: I only really feel spoken to by independents tbh. And they aren’t even running in my area 😭. The climate group I’m a part of, Green New Deal Rising, is endorsing some really cool independents!
Bethan: I’ll admit I’m a young person who first engaged in politics under Jeremy Corbyn – he developed some really strong policies aimed at young people that others parties haven’t. Corbyn brought the green new deal to mainstream politics, which was radical and gave young voters a tangible path for the future. Policies like GB energy are largely uninspiring.
Daniel: I was so upset that Labour watered down their climate policies. The oil giants cutting their pledges when their profits grew massively just shows decisive action needs to be done by government to combat climate change.
Paris: I tried to talk to Keir at his green pledge launch in Edinburgh and he completely ignored us despite us waiting around for 3 hours. It was honestly a really horrible experience. He refuses to actually engage with young people!
Niall: I really do think it’s just perception that young people are completely turned off by Labour. People who are hyper politically engaged want the party to be more focused on overt progressive policy, but policies like lowering car insurance rates and building houses engage far more young voters than any other policy issue (anecdotally they do!). Young people (18-24) are voting something like 60% Labour in most polls.
On social media
How does social media play into how you guys get your news?
Bethan: I try not to rely on it for news but I definitely interact with a lot of political TikToks. My friend who doesn’t care about politics sent me a video of Ed Davey on the water slide the other day.
Hassan: It has a big part in being the first place I see many news stories. Usually I’ll see a political TikTok or even a meme about politics that will eventually lead me to go and find out more about the topic
Who has the best TikTok game? 😂
Bethan: I fear it’s the Lib Dems 🥲
Paris: On TikTok there is a weird meme war going on between the parties. Most young people find it a bit ridiculous. UK Labour made a meme about Rishi Sunak travelling in a helicopter when doing basic everyday tasks (a bit like the Taylor Swift memes) but then Keir Starmer took a private jet from England to Glasgow for “election efficacy”, so…
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This conversation was conducted over a messaging platform between the Guardian and our contributors. It has been condensed for length. The Guardian worked with several organisations to access a representative sample of young people. They include: UK Youth, Citizens UK, Shout Out UK and Green New Deal Rising