Shouting to be heard: the political divide
March 12, 2025
Photos by Dee at Pixabay and Kaboompics.com at Pexels edited by Betty
Betty Iamandi highlights the barriers that keep young people from engaging in politics
Politics impacts my day-to-day life; the cost of my clothes, toothpaste, and overall living expenses are all tied to decisions made by people I don’t feel connected to. My voice feels small and overpowered. No one seems to hear me, and I often feel like I’m fighting a losing battle. But I don’t want to give up – I’m ready to shout until I’m heard. I want to be able to shape the decisions that affect my future.
The Electoral Reform Society’s report highlights the deep disconnect between voters and political outcomes. It reveals how the current voting system fails to reflect the voices of many people, particularly young people, with the 2024 election marked as the most disproportionate in UK history. From my view, this disconnect isn’t just about voting, it’s about feeling excluded from the entire political process. Many young people, myself included, feel that politicians don’t hear us or understand what we go through.
According to the ‘Power, Trust and Change’ report by YoungMinds, 60% of young people believe politicians don’t listen to them, and 70% feel powerless as a result. Additionally, only 25% think politicians understand what it’s like to be a young person today. As a young woman, I can relate to this sense of disconnection even more acutely, with the lack of representation leaving me feeling marginalised.
Young people care about politics, but the system ignores us
The Electoral Commission’s overview on modern voting proposes changes like same-day voter registration and e-voting to encourage more people to vote. But, from my perspective, the real issue isn’t about knowing how to vote, it’s about feeling excluded from the entire political process.
A major barrier to engagement, highlighted in the MYPLACE (Memory, Youth, Political Legacy, and Civic Engagement) study, is the exclusionary nature of political language. Political terms can be confusing or intimidating, making it hard for people to engage. This alienation only widens the gap, and it’s crucial that political messages be communicated in a more inclusive and accessible way.
The problem isn’t that young people don’t care about politics; we care passionately about issues like the cost of living, climate change, equality and education. The challenge lies in a system that feels distant and disconnected from our realities. Writing this has given me some hope. If we can address these barriers and rethink how politics engages with young people, change is possible.
