Blog written by Alfie, a member of the Young People's Forum:
The state of our natural world is a particularly important issue for us as young people as it is the younger generation that will be affected most by the action or inaction resulting from this election. The accomplishments of the next government will have repercussions for years when it comes to urgent environmental crises which will affect the youngest among us for the longest time.
Practically, it can be hard for young people to vote depending on living situations: moving out after living with parents, short-term rental agreements, and university summer breaks can lead to uncertainty and confusion about where you should be registered to vote. These practical considerations can then be compounded by a sense of helplessness which reduces voter turnout. Young adults often feel sidelined and think that their vote doesn’t matter as politicians vie for the votes of older demographics, ignoring issues that disproportionately affect and are important to younger voters. Hopelessness and defeatism can impede us in using our democratic right to have a say in who will make the big decisions about the direction of this country in the next five years. Young people generally have low voter turnout which means that political parties are liable to ignore us because we do not change election outcomes. We need to prove this assumption wrong.
On the 4th of July, we need to take action for nature. Your vote matters and needs to be used according to your priorities so that the elected government is committed to supporting us as we build a better future. This includes protecting the UK’s wildlife to ensure that our country supports diverse and healthy ecosystems that underpin human life and wellbeing while taking action on climate change to have a global impact on the stability of our planet. As young adults, it is our future that hangs in the balance.