Labour must capture the imagination of Britain’s youth

By Alex White / @awhita065

David Miliband’s recently announced University tour is one of two things. It is, as pounced upon by the media, a tentative step towards a return to front-bench politics. Or, it is the beginning of a new age in relations between Britain’s forgotten youth and the men and women in Westminster. I know which is more beneficial in the long term. I know which is more exciting.

I joined the Labour Party under the 1p Youth Membership scheme. This is entirely a step in the right direction to connect with Britain’s youth but it was done so under slightly opportunistic circumstances – to seize on the capitulation of the Liberal Democrat vote after the tuition fee saga.

It still looks like the party is wearing a mask which doesn’t fit. Labour is still thought of among young voters as another group of yes men, who betrayed the nation over Iraq and lost its progressive way during office. That sort of evolution and eventual downfall of a party is inevitable when it has been in power for thirteen years, but the electorate in this disposable, throw-away-culture don’t see things like that. Now is the time to rebuild.

The arguments inside the Labour Party since last year’s defeat have been loosely focused on the recently abandoned Blue Labour idea. Forget the specifics of Glasman’s ideology; the broad picture which so many seemed to sign up to was reminiscent of the way in which Labour will always lose the youth vote to more progressive parties unless it changes. Blue Labour focused on family, community and a small brand of conservatism. Young Britons don’t fret over those things. Young people fret over finding employment, finding a home and finding their own opportunities.

New Labour was the political wing of ‘Cool Britannia’; a fresh, young movement for a new era. Policies like the minimum wage helped young people in employment. But in reality, before the dust had even begun to settle on the 1997 victory, Labour fell into the trap modern politics hides so well. Both major parties treat youth as an aside to the broader electorate. At an election, this isn’t an entirely dangerous strategy to uphold; research has proved it justifiable. If you are of the ‘baby boomer’ generation you have more say – 4 out of 10 voters at last year’s election were over 55. But this can only go on for so long; that generation will be replaced with the youth of 2011. And where does that leave this generation of youth, the one I am a part of? We have been forgotten thus far; when will we be noticed?

These are not just teenage cries of rebellion. Time and again British youth has been let down by politics, none more so than this Tory-led coalition. And this is where Labour must learn to thrive, where Ed Miliband must build an exciting movement.

Where do the problems lie in the relationship between Labour and Britain’s youth? There are domestic issues and there are international issues. The introduction of tuition fees under Labour was indicative of a government pandering to the ‘mature taxpayers’ at the expense of youth. It is the same now under the coalition. Of course there are economic reasons for tuition fee increases, but they sit comfortably with those of the older generations who believe the lazy, student image. The young don’t get much say, especially when it affects those who can’t even vote yet.

Internationally, Iraq was where New Labour truly broke from its progressive, young image. This piece is no place for the moral argument over Iraq. But young people are inherently excited about moral issues and doing the right thing. Iraq, in their eyes, was the wrong thing to do.

Labour must become the party to realise young people aren’t naturally apathetic towards politics. They must realise that politics has not been kind to young people. Progressive ideas reach the hearts of much of young Britain, and that should not be ignored. After every major historical event comes a new, engrossing movement mirrored across all parts of life – politics, art and entertainment. Labour must capture the imagination of Britain’s youth in the post-recession era.

The way out of this predicament is not simple when you examine that over-55s statistic I mentioned above. Breaking from traditional Labour voters would be disastrous, as would focusing solely on the youth vote. But it doesn’t have to be like that. Uniting the party and aligning with youth concerns can be done without alienating the rest of the electorate.

Ed Balls was spot on with his idea to tax bank bonuses and turn that revenue into youth jobs and housing. This is exactly what Labour needs to do to win back young people. For that reason, and to build on reaching out to young people, David Miliband’s university tour must be more than a vanity tour.

The tuition fee chaos was marked by anarchists and abstainers but the underlying issue was ignored. It contributes to a far wider series of betrayals from both the Lib Dems and the Conservatives. Rising youth unemployment. Cuts to public services. Teacher pension cuts, turning more promising teachers away from educating our children.

Many young people voted Tory or Lib Dem in 2010 having abandoned Labour for becoming ‘the man’; Labour itself must take some of the blame for what is happening. Now they have the chance to set things right and do what Harold Wilson suggested. Harness youth ‘to storm the frontiers of knowledge’.