ENGAGING young people in mainstream politics is a bit of a vicious circle.

Many young people are, at best, turned off from modern politics or, at worst, alienated by it.

Some politicians can, in turn, disregard young people’s needs as they are less likely to vote. And so the cycle continues.

But are young people politically apathetic? I don’t think they are.

It’s true that fewer 18 to 24 year olds may be turning out to vote than their older counterparts but there is evidence to show they are more engaged in other ways.

There has been some debate about how many young people voted in last year’s European Union (EU) referendum.

Straight after the vote, pollsters said that just 36 per cent of people aged 18 to 24 turned out to cast their vote.

A collective finger was pointed at a whole generation who were roundly told not to complain about the decision to leave the EU when they hadn’t bothered to have their say.

But we now know, thanks to research by the London School of Economics, that the turnout figure was actually 64 per cent.

That’s still not as high as their older counterparts – 90 per cent of over 65s voted, for example – but, for a generation of people branded narcissistic and apathetic, I don’t think it’s too bad.

With yet another national vote looming, young people have another chance to influence national politics.

In fact 750,000 British teenagers who were too young to vote in the referendum last year will have their first opportunity to vote on June 8 and it’s vital they don’t miss this chance to make a difference.

In the children’s sector we need to use our contact with young people to emphasise how important political engagement could be in changing lives.

At Barnardo’s we’re heading in the right direction, helping young people to tell their stories and share their experiences to influence politicians and decision makers.

Was the Brexit vote a watershed for young people’s engagement in mainstream politics? It certainly shows young people are engaged on issues they can relate to and that they feel are important.

Unsurprisingly, young people who have grown up as EU citizens felt strongly enough to visit the ballot box on June 23 last year.

This begs the obvious question – would the EU referendum’s result have been the same if 16 and 17-year-olds had been allowed the vote?

At Barnardo’s we support the lowering of the voting age to 16 in Westminster elections to ensure greater representation of children and young people at a national level.

Young people all around us are shaking off the labels the older generation have given them. They are proving all the time they don’t deserve to be called apathetic or narcissistic.

Politicians need to do more to bring young people into the political mainstream so they can have a say in key issues that affect them, or risk losing them to more extreme or direct means of action.

A failure to do this could result in more and more drifting to politics outside the establishment and while there’s nothing wrong with that per se, large scale opting out of mainstream politics by a whole section of society is not a sign of a healthy, representative democracy.

Javed Khan, Chief

Executive, Barnardo’s

Tanners Lane, Barkingside

WHAT RULES APPLY TO NEW CLANFIELD CENTRE BUILDING ?

THE NEW community centre in Clanfield will shortly open to give the village a wonderful asset and I am more than happy to see the increase in my rates bill being used to support a public asset.

However, my understanding of the management structure in place to operate the centre is being placed in the hands of a private ‘not for profit company.’ Who are the shareholders of this company and how can shares change hands in the future ?

If my understanding is correct, what is the position if in the future the books cannot be balanced?

Will the contract be handed back to the parish council, following the practice for the nationalised railways ?

Will detailed accounts be available for public scrutiny?

Perhaps I’m asking too much for public assets to be owned by and run for the benefit of the public.

Bill Enstone

Sunderton Lane, Clanfield

parking charges

REGARDING THE FRONT PAGE STORY IN THE PETERSFIELD POST, MAY 3.

For the benefit of readers could you please explain how you calculated the figure of 17 per cent? Or may be it was a creative accounting figure from the district council.

Surely from the data given a change of charge from 60p to £1 is an increase of 40p or 67 per cent.

Changing from £1.20 to £1.50 is 30p or 25 per cent and from £6.50 to £7 is 50p or 7.7 per cent.

JR Smith

Woodbury Avenue,

Petersfield

Editor’s note: The percentage increase figure reported in last week’s story related to the aeverage overall increase in parking charges in East Hampshire. This district council figure excludes the increases to the one-hour parking tariffs.

charity plea

TURNING RED WILL HELP OUR RESEARCH

THE BRITISH Heart Foundation (BHF) is calling on everyone in the south east to join the fight against heart disease by wearing red and hosting a red-themed fundraising event on June 9 to raise money for lifesaving research.

Around 936,000 people are fighting a daily battle with heart and circulatory disease in the region and these conditions claim the lives of around 21,000 people each year.

The BHF is helping to end the devastation caused by heart disease by funding around £100m of cutting-edge research each year.

In the south east alone, we currently fund around £83m of research into projects at Oxford University, Southampton University and Reading University.

This includes Professor Hugh Watkins and his team’s study into testing new treatments for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), an inherited heart condition where the muscle wall of your heart becomes thickened, making it harder to pump blood around the body.

The research may be used to prevent the disease developing in family members who carry alterations in genes that cause HCM.

By signing up to ‘Wear it. Beat it.’ on June 9, you can help power more lifesaving discoveries. Whether it’s at home, a school or at your workplace, don your favourite red garments and join the fun across the UK by organising a red-themed fundraising event.

Whatever you choose to do, ‘Wear it. Beat it.’ is a great way to bring everyone together and help make a difference to millions.

By joining thousands of people in wearing red and hosting a red-themed fundraising event, you will help us fund more pioneering research to support the seven million people living with heart and circulatory disease in the UK.”

Last year more than 15,000 people took part in ‘Wear it. Beat it.’ raising over £750,000.

The BHF is calling for even more of you to get involved this year and help raise in excess of £1m for the charity’s heart research.

Once you sign up, you’ll receive a free fundraising kit jam-packed with reddy-made ideas.

Visit www.wearitbeatit.bhf. org.uk for more information or call 0300 330 0645.

Adrian Adams, Head of Mass Participation, British Heart Foundation

Hampstead Road, London

DRINKS BAN DOESN’T GO FAR ENOUGH

NHS ENGLAND has asked all retailers with hospital outlets to limit sugary drinks to no more than 10 per cent of the total beverages they sell by next April.

While this is a step in the right direction, it does not go far enough.

These unhealthy drinks have no place in the NHS which is supposed to encourage, and improve, health and wellbeing.

Selling sugary drinks in hospitals sends mixed messages to patients and visitors, especially children and young people.

It is also important to promote the health and wellbeing for staff, who are often so stretched they have to use on site vending machines for their food.

I would like to see the NHS go one step further and extend this decision to include all unhealthy food and snacks sold in hospitals, with a sugar content over a specific amount per 100 grams, to help further promote healthy eating.

Professor Parveen Kumar, Board of Science

chairman, British

Medical Association

Tavistock Square, London

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