by Grant Costello, SYP Chair
The devastatingly low turnout in this years local elections must act as a wake-up call to Scotland’s political leaders. Some of the figures are breathtaking. In the Maryhill Ward in Dundee less than 30% of eligible voters went to the polls. It was worse in the George Street Ward in Aberdeen, which only had 20% turnout. The tale was the same across Scotland.
But at the same time as people are staying away, there are young people who want to vote, but who aren’t getting the opportunity. The SYP’s experience shows young people are interested in politics – 85,000 young people voted in our elections, we received 42,000 responses to our Manifesto, Change the Picture, and over a thousand young people marched on Valentines Day in support of Equal Marriage.
So young people are willing to be involved if they have the opportunity. But at the moment they don’t get the chance. When young people leave school, they’re expected to take on the responsibilities of society, without any say. No wonder they feel rejected. No wonder when they are finally eligible to vote, they don’t recognise the value. Between 16 and 18 they may have: married, started working, or even joined the military – all of it without voting. No wonder they ask, “What’s the point?”
That’s where lowering the voting age makes a difference. It provides a relevance to citizenship lessons. It provides an opportunity for first-time voters to go to the ballot-box as a group. Because getting young people to vote for the first time is crucial. It changes the act of voting from something done by other people, to a personal act of citizenship. I vote because that is what we do in a democracy.
That deals with so many of the reasons young people don’t vote. They don’t engage because they have not been given the chance. They don’t engage because none of their peers are. They don’t engage because they don’t see the point, and they don’t think it will change anything.
When young people get the chance to vote, more will – mathematics alone assures that. That means the issues young people care about become more relevant, as politicians react to the new voting group. That makes politics more relevant to young people, which means more young people are interested, which mean more young people vote. It creates a virtuous cycle.
That is especially true at local elections. From services to schools to skills training, local authorities have an enormous influence over young people. They deserve a chance to have their say, and to get involved.
It’s clear excluding young people from voting is disengaging them – so political parties don’t pay attention to their interests. We need to change that mindset. We need to encourage greater engagement with the issues young people care about; the issues of the future. That’s why the SYP believe it’s essential the political leaders of the present start to listen, and make themselves accountable, to those who are the future of Scotland.
A abbreviated version of this article first appeared in the Sunday Herald
Following a question from Annabel Goldie MSP on the Scottish Government’s plans to charge English, Welsh and Northern Irish Students up to £36,000, Alex Salmond MSP cited the SYP along with a number of university principals in his response.
