The Young Can Fix this Democratic Mess

I think it’s fair to say that my generation has had a bumpy start to democracy. I left college in 2008 and voted for the first time in 2008 in the European Elections; at the same time through no fault of mine or of my peers, I also walked into a world experiencing the worst economic crash since the Great Depression of the early 20th Century.

This plus the Coalition of 2010 reneging on the Tuition Fees pledge, which led to us rioting in huge numbers, confirmed the alienation and disassociation of my age group from politics and still leaves a raw feeling to this day.

Fast forward 9 years of austerity and generally it’s still bad times for us; we cannot afford our first homes, many of us are using food banks and yet again I feel we’ve been had - with our generation overwhelmingly voting to remain in the EU, we still find ourselves staring into the abyss of a possible no deal Brexit.

I say enough is enough. It’s time for us to learn from this, where are our early 20’s and 30’s representatives in politics, speaking up for our generation? Sure, I had a go, getting elected as councillor in May 2016 by a margin of just 7 votes, but found myself surrounded by nothing but the Stale, Pale and Male who are stuck in the Thatcher days.

It’s not our fault we have been put off politics before we could even start to follow it, but it’s not too late. We the young, with our future in our control, can make changes to make sure this flagrant flouting of our democratic rights never happens again. For this to happen we need to change the Philosophy and approach to Civic Society; we need to educate the new generation currently at school in civic process. Make them clued up, and it wouldn’t hurt us to get our head into a book or read some boring material, because whilst it may be dry it is fundamental to our and our children’s future.

We don’t need a Conservative Answer to Brexit, we don’t need a Labour, Green, SNP, DUP, Lib Dem answer to Brexit.

We need the right answer to Brexit, and I am calling on my fellow generation to stop sitting back silently - we need to start actively participating in politics at all levels, from Parish and District through to County and Parliamentary levels.

The future is ours, not the likes of the Iain Duncan Smiths, Jacob Rees Moggs or Theresa May’s for that matter.

This has happened because we’ve always been treated like we’re stupid, sneered at time and time again and most importantly, treated with absolute disrespect but told to ‘respect your elders’. In the same breath we’re called ‘Millennial snowflakes, Entitled and Narcissistic’, this coming from the generation who caused the shameful Windrush Scandal, the Hostile Environment, who don’t respect the medical needs of the disabled through the inhumane ATOS Assessments and Universal Credit.

The same people that we voted in (I didn’t) have forced over 1 million people, including NHS Workers, into using food banks. This is not earning any respect from me. I’m pissed off - I’ve had to live my entire adult life in Austerity, not being able to afford a home for my family, so I am fucking entitled to be - and if I am a snowflake for wanting the disabled and unemployed to be treated like people then I’ll wear that tag.

Enough is enough! I am sending out a war cry to all my fellow Generation Z/Millenials; we need to take control of democracy at all levels, with enough political will we can solve this Brexit shambles with enough time, and undo the mess our parents’ generation created. Stand in your local area for councillor, stand for county councillor, stand for bloody parish councillor - we can build some platforms with a direct line to the government and rebuild our future.