How do young people feel about the general election? Apathetic

Yesterday (May 22), Rishi Sunak called a general election for July 4. It now seems clear that the UK will soon see the end of 14 years of Tory government: at present, opinion polling puts Labour a sizeable 20 percentage points ahead of the Tories. Additional figures released by YouGov last month projected that Labour are set to win 403 seats, while the current Conservative majority would dwindle to just 155 – 14 seats fewer than predicted in January, suggesting that support for the Tories is only worsening as time passes. Plus, the new Reform UK party is increasingly threatening to ‘split’ the right-wing vote, with around 11 per cent of voters intending to vote for the party. To put it simply: Sunak would need a seismic miracle – such as an asteroid hitting London – to win.

I have dreamt of this moment. Like countless young people across the country, I woke up on December 13 2019 feeling angry and despondent; the next election, to be held within the next five years, seemed an eternity away. Now, in just over a month’s time, the UK will more than likely have a Labour Prime Minister for the first time in my adult life. I should be thrilled. But as Sunak stood at the lectern outside Downing Street, drenched by rain and drowned out by a boombox blaring “Things Can Only Get Better”, half-shouting about this being “the moment for Britain to choose its future”, I felt almost nothing.

It’s nigh-on impossible to feel enthusiastic about Keir Starmer becoming our next Prime Minister. Since assuming the role of Labour leader four years ago, Starmer has alienated swathes of traditional Labour voters, such as young people, people of colour, and Muslims.

In 2020, he dismissed the Black Lives Matter protests which were catalysed by the murder of George Floyd at hands of a police officer as nothing more than a “moment”. He has defended transphobic comments from Labour MP Rosie Duffield. He sacked the shadow transport minister for joining striking rail workers on the picket line. He backtracked on a pledge to abolish university tuition fees. He recently U-turned on another pledge to ban zero-hour contracts, prompting criticism from union leaders. He has also responded mind-bogglingly badly to the ongoing situation in Gaza, arguing in November 2023 that Israel had the right to “defend herself” by shutting off water and power to Palestinians, only calling for a ceasefire after Sunak did so, and refusing to ban arms sales to Israel. I could go on.

Sure, the five missions outlined on Labour’s website are admirable aims. They want to “get the NHS back on its feet”, make the UK a “clean energy superpower”, and “grow the economy”. But what’s less clear is how he actually intends to do any of this, and in any case, he’s flip-flopped on so many policies by this point that it remains to be seen whether he’ll really commit to these pledges.

“Things Can Only Get Better” is now creeping up the charts again, but our current situation is a far cry from 1997. There’s no sense of unalloyed optimism that permeated the 1997 election campaign. Of course, Tony Blair went on to trash his legacy by illegally invading Iraq in 2003 – but prior to this, the New Labour leader was undeniably a more popular, charismatic and engaging figure than Starmer. It’s difficult to imagine Starmer releasing a video akin to the 1997 Labour campaign video – which sees Blair walking to a polling station while being warmly greeted by members of his local community, to the tune of the catchy D:Ream song – without being lambasted on X for doing something so cringeworthy. Case in point: voters were recently asked to describe Starmer using one word: “boring” came out on top.

It’s a difficult time to be young and progressive, and I don’t think there’s a one-size-fits-all approach for what leftists should do in this election. In the face of such widespread apathy, though, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: electoral reform, which does way with the current first-past-the-post system and embraces proportional representation, is essential to restore young people’s waning faith in democracy. But in the meantime: should you vote Green? Swap your vote? Spoil your ballot? Grit your teeth and vote Labour? There’s no easy answer to these questions – and only time will tell exactly how everything plays out on July 4.