Stirling Uni Student and SSP Activist, Greg Brown, on young people engaging in politics in a post-referendum Scotland.
It is perhaps the single greatest element of an inspiring referendum campaign; Scotland’s young people are engaging with formal politics like never before, and it’s wonderful.
But, whilst universities and colleges provide an accessible means to activism and involvement, what is being done to further enfranchise those who chose not to go on to higher education? What can we do to make sure those young people working full-time, part-time, undertaking apprenticeship schemes, or still looking for work are at the forefront of our revitalised democracy?
Those from backgrounds where higher education isn’t as emphasised and encouraged are also the most likely to feel alienated from the political system and its inherently elitist institutions and practices. The existence of a political class, made up disproportionately of the privately educated, is something that creates an ‘us and them’ situation in what should be the most transparent and accountable of public relationships, that between a constituent and their elected representative. Certainly, qualified university graduates are both needed and warranted within the political system, but we must ensure that those from differing backgrounds – the vast majority of the electorate – are not left isolated from the political process as a result.
Working full-time, dealing with the stresses and strains that come with that can act as a means to inaction. Many young men and women working straight out of school know all too well the demoralising and debilitating nature of zero hour contracts and poverty pay. Many work 40 hours a week to still not be able to make ends meet. These are the people we need on the streets, in the housing estates and on the shop floors, letting their employers and fellow employees know that something needs to change. Whilst trade union prevalence and membership is extremely low in associated industries, and traditional avenues to organised action are stunted, the Yes campaign paved the way to utilise other means.
It is not enough to simply show up in May of any given election year, chap a few doors and hope that the same people you haven’t given a monkey’s about since they last voted for you, will do the same again this time. This is part of the political culture we must dismantle, prevalent within a certain party that are about to feel the wrath of Scottish communities who are sick and tired of being taken for granted.
Weekly public meetings and stalls allow people to hear and interact with issues both specific to their community and the nation at large, a simple, yet invaluable tool in keeping democratic fervour alive and well. The SSP for example, hold weekly stalls in town centres across the country campaigning for a living wage and workers’ rights. Beyond this, and more tailored to the elusive demographic this article speaks to, is schemes and programmes which have an emphasis on out-reach, not waiting to catch them on their way to work or from the shops, but going into communities, knocking on doors and asking them what they want to see change, empowering them to change it. It is through such programmes that footholds are created, one activist turns into two, and then a plethora of dedicated, young workers are indelibly involved with the politics they are passionate about, rolling out these ideas across the communities they live in, and in the spaces they work. This encapsulates the importance of activism within disenfranchised communities, there can be no preaching to, but discussion within, and young workers are the most effective means to sparking these much needed debates.
Most university campuses have societies affiliated to all three Yes parties, why can’t we give young workers a similar means to political engagement? Party youth wings must be at centre of how young workers cut their political teeth, providing them with a safe platform from which to learn about the workings of the political arena, where they can voice opinions and organise without fear of delegation from senior party members. The move from no political involvement to trying to have your voice heard amongst experienced and influential party officials can be a jarring one, and will put off many. Youth wings offer not only entry to organised politics for formerly disengaged young working people, but they also provide parties with fresh and invaluable insight, something which can go a long way to ending the old male, pale and stale politics practiced at Westminster and beyond.
Groups like Generation Yes and The Radical Independence campaign made it a priority to reach out to those in the poorest areas, to make sure they were registered and brought into the debate in any capacity they wished. This must remain a priority moving forward. The explosion of talented young political activists from working class backgrounds during the referendum can’t be a flash in the pan, and efforts must be made to secure this as a main stay of Scottish politics.
The Yes movement was at times the perfect hybrid between grassroots activism and formal political campaigning. It was innovative and vibrant, something that can’t be said for the way things were before. How we shape our society must not be an exclusive debate between ‘intellectuals’ and members of the formal political class, but instead include and emphasise the input of ordinary working people up and down the country; those who need a platform and means to find their voices. If we are to move forward in the spirit of the referendums democratic revolution we must ensure that those formerly forgotten know what politics can do for them. It is theirs to grasp and sculpt, with a power to enable and empower their communities more effectively than any elected official; there’s no better way of breaking the cycle of political dormancy than by helping our young working population lead the charge.
By Greg Brown