Our Youth Communications Adviser Lisa, gives her thoughts on the upcoming 2016 London Mayoral election and why more young people need to vote!
The 2016 London Mayoral Election is almost here, after months of campaigning by the candidates. The next Mayor of London will have a huge responsibility for at least the next four years, to improve the lives of Londoners, so that they have the best possible experience of living, working and studying in the city.
This means that Londoners across the board need to make sure that their voices are heard. The most important and democratic way to do this is to vote. But there’s a problem.
Not enough young people are voting. Why? I think it’s because politicians aren’t doing enough to make young people feel as though they are being cared about. As a young person in my early twenties I want to be able to move out one day to be independent and start thinking about life away from home. If I want that to happen, I need the politicians to get on board and listen to what I and other young people need. We need to remind them that we have a voice by voting .
No matter what background we come from and no matter what our dreams and goals are, we all have a right to have our voices be heard.
The mayoral candidates need to prove to us that they are going to listen to us, and not ignore us whenever it suits them. It’s just as much our responsibility to assert our voices as it is for them to listen to us. Let’s face it, politics is a two-way relationship.
Politics is our responsibility too, even if we don’t want to protest or work in Downing Street. Make sure your voice is heard by voting on 5 May!