This is how the government can improve children's lives

This could have been for any number of reasons - maybe it's because children don't influence the agenda via the ballot box, so are not immediate vote winners. It could be because politicians think that improvements in the adult world will "trickle down" to children. Or it could be that no one had looked at the needs of children in the round and so no vision had emerged. Whatever the reason, I would have liked to have seen greater discussion about the critical issues facing children and how we can work together as a nation to resolve them.

For children and young people, the time leading up to the election itself continued as any other. Apart for perhaps those who got an extra day at home if their school was used as polling station, they will feel the same pressures on their lives - concerns about relationships, exams and futures will still be there. Too many will still be living in households where there isn't enough income coming in to meet their needs. Too many won't be getting the care and protection they need at home. And too many won't be getting the support and attention they need if they are being looked after.