Labour and the Tories face a battle to win the hearts of younger voters

13 October 2023 , 14:45

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Labour and the Tories face a battle to win the hearts of younger voters

It’s over. Finally. We’ve heard from the two main parties - the Conservative Party last week and Labour a few days ago.

It’s fair to say that the nation has been taken for a ride in recent years when it comes to our government and we’ve heard from both leaders in their own way. Now, who should voters put their faith in? Who does the nation trust? Who do young people trust?

From Rishi Sunak failing to meet his five governmental priorities he pledged at the start of the year, to Keir Starmer backtracking on university costs, it came to a point where the needs of young people seemed non-existent.

The distance between us and the government has been the farthest it’s been in a while. Young people have time and time again shared their disappointment with Labour, feeling as though their priorities and not recognised by the party.

As leaders of the future we’re often separated with politics and feel to know far less about what happens within the walls of Westminster. Last year it was surveyed that only 19% of young people aged 18-24 say that our democratic system serves us well.

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We might be the leaders of tomorrow but it often feels as though there's a big gap between the needs and priorities of young people, and the policies and discussions in the corridors of power. That showed in both Sunak and Starmer's speeches. The closest thing Rishi Sunak mentioned when it came to young people was changing A levels for 16-19 years old to The Advanced British Standards – no one asked for that.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak at the Conservative party conference last week (AP)

Sunak is the youngest prime minister in modern British history yet he’s doing nothing that young people will benefit from. In a speech in which he tried to rebrand himself as the candidate for change - apparently without irony after 13 years of Tory rule - there was nothing mentioned regarding the burdensome university debt, or the huge increase in rent, homelessness, the list goes on.

Starmer's speech was only marginally more focused toward younger people, but after his U-turn on abolishing tuition fees it's difficult to know whether the Labour Party can be trusted to keep other promises.

Keir Starmer pictured at the Labour Party Conference, shortly after a protester jumped onto the stage and showered him in glitter (Getty Images)

Serena Richards