The European parliamentary elections (the ones where UKIP has actually won seats in the past) are happening a week from now and I, the same age as the aforementioned blogger, Sanya Jeet Thandi am also left with a quandry of where to place my vote. We've had plenty of election leaflets through the door in our student house, each promising to deliver a strong economy, or criticise the approach of the other parties, and all of them hoping to appeal to the average, middle class nuclear family concerned with their 2.2 children. Whether it's the cost of the living, the strength of the economy or immigration, we are told exactly why we should vote for the various groups.
Something is missing however. We are told via brightly coloured leaflet that the big world of politics can be miraculously solved by your leaders, so long as you remember to pop along to your election booth to vote. Big slogans, cheesy grinning stock photos and lines of ticks are there to remind you, the educated adult citizen that your interests are well taken care of. But the crucial thing missing, is the political party willing to presume that voters are not completely ignorant, capable of a little critical thought and rational reflection.
I understand that anyone above the age of about 30 will look down on my generation and our opinions, feel free not to consider them very important and not regard us as people they should spend a huge amount of time bothering about. We lack the hard bitten cynicism that comes from working, owning property and enjoying the fruits of our labour. Our fresh faced optimism and occasional bright ideas clearly bear little resemeblance to the cruel world we are about to chuck ourselves into, once we've worked for unpaid internships and been reminded how grateful we are.
The youth of today, the hard bitten adults of tomorrow are considered by the political establishment to have very little influence, we are seen as disenfranchised and aside from those members of the 'Young *****' party completely clueless about politics. If it can't be explained by Nick Grimshaw with a little innuendo and immaturity then we apparently won't understand what's going on. Indeed the cartoons encouraging us youthful individuals to vote, as issued by the European parliament presume that our intelligence is little greater than that of the common water vole.
But I'm issuing a challenge to any political party that wants my vote in the European Parliamentary elections. I'd like you to explain to me, as a fellow citizen of this country, what you offer and what I can expect, not in soundbites but a clear and reasoned argument. I'd like you to respect that while I may not have the same realistic experience of the world as your 'party sources', I am still a rational human being capable of critical thought and an ability to question and form judgements about your claims. If any political party is capable of treating its young voters as more than easy demonisation and respect their basic opinions, then I pledge my vote to you. If you can't do that, I'll do what us young people supposedly do and vote for the candidate with the funniest sounding name.
