General election: Young voters more concerned by mental health and climate change than Brexit, expert says
Fiona Simpson
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Promises to improve mental health support and tackle climate change will sway young voters “more than Brexit”, a youth studies expert has said.
Under-25s make up the highest proportion of people who registered to vote ahead of the 12 December general election, according to the Electoral Reform Society.
Between the election being called on 29 October to when registration closed on 26 November, more than 1.4m 18- to 25-year-olds registered to vote, the society said.
But will an influx of young voters sway the results next Thursday?
Dr Ben Bowman, from the University of Manchester, said the youth vote could help Labour and the Green Party win more votes but added that Brexit would not be the biggest issue when young people take to the polls.
Concerns about mental health and climate change will factor well above Britain exiting the EU when young people make their decision, he said.
“This election is important to young people, they want to have their voices heard but for them the impact of Brexit is not the most worrying thing.
“Despite it being dubbed a ‘Brexit election’, young people do not see this as the biggest impact on them - many don’t want it to happen as it could affect their ability to travel and work in the EU in the future, but for them this election is not about Britain leaving the EU.
“Young people want to hear more on climate change, the future of the planet is important to them. This can be seen by the school strikes and engagement with climate change protests,” Dr Bowman said.
“Policy around mental health support is also very important to young people. They are becoming more and more aware of the impact of mental health issues are talking about this - for them these are the issues that could sway their vote."
Dr Bowman's comments come after the NSPCC revealed that Childline delivered 109,136 counselling sessions on mental and emotional health and wellbeing in 2018/19, compared with 101,454 in 2017/18.
The calls included those from children worried about suicidal thoughts and feelings, and self-harm relating to themselves or others.
In 34,513 cases the counsellor was the first person a child had spoken to about their problem.
The Labour Party has pledged £385m toward young people's mental health services with plans to introduce counsellors into all secondary schools and create UK-wide mental health hubs.
The Liberal Democrats have promised to prioritise early intervention to prevent young people suffering a mental health crisis and introduce further mental health maximum waiting-time standards, starting with children’s services, services for people with eating disorders, and severe and enduring conditions.
The Conservative Party has committed to treating mental health with the same urgency as physical health and vowed to tackle bullying and protect children from abuse and harm online.
Forecasting “surprising swings towards Labour, the Greens and the SNP”, the lecturer said: “The biggest driving force behind young registration is almost certainly the momentum generated by the last decade of campaigning by movements, parties and young people themselves on the left side of British politics.
“It looks like a new politics of young people is gathering force, aided by campaigns like the school strikes, the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn, and going back further, the student protests and occupations in 2010.”
