Many young voters in next month’s UK general election have lived under a Conservative government for most of their lives, with the ruling party having been in power since 2010.
Gen Z voters — those born after 1997 — only made up nine percent of the electorate last time round in 2019. But they make up around 15 percent this year, according to the National Centre for Social Research, and want to hold the government to account.
Sawen Ali, 24, also voted Labour in 2019 but will not be repeating it this year. Ali cites the party’s treatment of its members on the left and its stance on Israel’s offensive in Gaza, including suspending some members who voted for a ceasefire in Gaza last November.
“It makes me feel sick that Labour takes a vote like mine for granted, purely because I’m young, or I’m a person of colour”, says Ali, who is a Masters student at Cambridge University.
Ali said she will be spoiling her ballot and in doing so hopes it will give all parties pause for thought about future policies.
Amie Kirby is a recent graduate from a working-class background. Living in Salford in Manchester, north England, Kirby has struggled with cuts to welfare payments for disabled people.
She said her vote was based on Tory and Labour policies on Gaza and other issues including immigration and gender identity. “Culture wars” attacks on migrants or trans people feel “completely out of touch with my generation”, said Kirby, who was raised as a Labour voter but is now “torn”.
“I think part of me wants to vote Green, part of me wants to spoil my ballot,” she confessed.
