Youth issues key theme in Manchester

Our time at the Labour party conference in Manchester was inspiring and it was encouraging to see that issues that affect young people were at the forefront of everyone’s minds.

It was good to hear shadow education secretary Stephen Twigg talk about the need to celebrate young people and their achievements more.  

It was also refreshing to hear that the party wanted to focus on those who weren’t destined for A levels and university, but instead needed help to get on the career ladder straightaway.  

Twigg called for more focus on improving the education system, so that teachers are the best they can be to get the best out of young people.

Hilary Benn, shadow secretary of state for communities and local government, gave a passionate speech where he spoke about local investment in education bursaries to help young people stay on in education in cases where it may not otherwise be possible. This came in response to the controversial scrapping of EMA.

There was also emphasis on the high levels of youth unemployment and how important work experience was to give young people the tools to gain the experience they need to get a job. I found it encouraging to hear that politicians are recognising the need to invest and empower young people who aren’t necessarily destined for higher education, but have skills in other vocational areas.

I also got chance to hear shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan talk about the prison system, and how we need to be tough on punishments and crime prevention.

I was shocked to hear that over 70 per cent of UK prisoners suffer from mental health issues, and that tackling this could reduce crime massively.

This is an issue that is close to the hearts of those at Kids Count, as we are currently running a campaign that aims to increase and promote positive awareness of mental health in young people.

There is a stigma surrounding mental health, and it was again encouraging to hear that this is something that is beginning to be addressed. Khan also spoke of how important trying to tackle re-offending was, as this costs the country £11bn each year. 

Kids Count champions the benefits of intervention before offenders re-offend, but not only this, we believe it is vital to invest in early intervention so young people set off on the right path before they are led into crime. Investing in rehabilitation of offenders was key to his speech.

Overall, what really stood out was how everyone we spoke to thought it was important to invest in young people and to try to tackle these issues. From speaking to people, it was clear that in most cases young people were perceived in a positive way, and that it was mainly the media that cast a negative light on many young people.

It was positive to see that most opinions were focused on trying to address early intervention as a key to reducing youth crime, as opposed to increasing punishments.

We have learnt a lot from our time at the conference and will take what we have found from our experiences in Manchester and carry them into the work we do as a charity.

Sam is a youth board member at Kids Count