Young non voters

My Dgd will be 18 in July. She voted in the September referendum and is disappointed that she can't vote in the GE. I was delighted to see how involved and motivated she and her peers were and will be interested to see the post GE statistics on young voters north and south of the border.

I think that politics today does not have so many "characters" that it used to have.
Most politicians are coming from the same sort of background and upbringing, and it shows. So there is not much for the young to differentiate between.

Plus the young are now more interested in themselves[generally speaking]
Selfies, and celebrity culture, and looking good etc.

Politics have become blah to them.

Is citizenship part of PGSE nowadays?

The young people, some in their 20s, didn't know very much about the British Constitution. By that I mean the make up of parliament or government.

They, maybe through no fault of their own, appeared very unaware of how government affects their lives.
The young people interviewed seemed to be in work and motivated about life.
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J52, I don't know that teaching civic responsibility is something for grannies to do, perhaps if our DGC talk about it, you can encourage discussion.The worry is that we will influence their thinking with our own partisan political thought.The same goes for parents.Encouraging them to vote, and to be interested in politics because it will affect them directly in their lives seems to be the best way to go.

I wasn't advocating political bias. Children and GC probably are aware of family preferences, but just to make sure that they understand the role of Government and the historical context of the right to vote.

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My 7 year old granddaughter came round with her mother to pick up her brother. There was a copy of the Guardian's party promises article on the table, so she immediately asked who we were voting for and why.
Her brother is looking forward to the next election when he should be able to vote, depending on whether he's allowed to become a British citizen at 18.
Their 22 year old cousin will be voting for the first time and is very excited.
Isn't it up to families as well as schools to educate children about politics?
My grandson will be coming with me next week when I go to vote. He knows what happens at the polling station, and will probably have a chat to those working there.
We were at Beamish last year when the Suffragettes started an argument in the cafe. The kids wanted to know all about it, and were most upset at the idea that the woman was going to be taken to jail, and that she did not have a vote.

Durhamjen; the youngsters in your family certainly sound as if they will be well prepared to vote and take a full role in society, when the time comes. x

Certainly hope so, J52. Eldest granddaughter lives in Salford, has a first class degree and is on a zero hours contract despite working over 40 hours a week since she graduated. I know who she will not be voting for.

What do other parents and grans say when their grand/children ask about anything political? Children are always asking questions. Do they say it's nothing to do with them?

I always say to non-voters that they can't blame the Government for things they are not happy about if they didn't vote for the one they wanted. People can't sit on the fence then blame whoever gets in for everything that goes wrong. Everyone who has a vote has a responsibility to use it and that applies to young people especially I think

But isn't the basis of our political opinions our whole value system? In that case we will of course influence our children and grandchildren.

Does that mean, GrannyTwice that our children and DGC will automatically have the same values that we have? Maybe in some things but probably not all and in that way their political preferences may be different to ours over time.

My DS will turn 18 in three weeks time, therefore missing the GE this time but would dearly love to vote and, as with both my children, has discussed (and argued) politics with me for some years now. I am proud of them that they both have a voice when it comes to their opinions about their future and that of their own children, when he comes to have any. At the moment he is fixed on other points, like the student fees, bedroom tax, immigration, the economy in general with a view to house purchases. How any young person cannot be interested, or anyone come to that, in politics is beyond me, when it effects everything we do every single day. It's the lackadaisical attitude of the public which will again let this country down.

But isn't the basis of our political opinions our whole value system? In that case we will of course influence our children and grandchildren

That is what I am coming to realise. That there are some posters on gransnet who think like that. Mainly Labour ones at a guess.

I most certainly dont influence people in real life. Politics is but a fraction of my life. I dont have grandchildren, but I do have children. I havent even asked them what they are voting. I dont know, and it is up to them.
We do discuss politics a bit if it comes up in conversation, or it is on the tv. But because none of them are here a lot of the time, we have barely discussed it this time around.

By the way though. The part which I have quoted is true of my christianity. And I do operate that system for that.

I'm not sure I understand your reasoning soontobe as to how it is mainly Labour posters who 'think like that'.

Of course we influence our children in all sorts of ways as they grow up, the same goes for our grandchildren to a lesser extent, if we have regular contact with them.

Neither of my children will be at home next week so both have postal votes arranged, one going so far as to have nominated me as a proxy for both herself and her husband. She has been very interested in political ideas since primary school.

We have all discussed the election, in person and by email, I would find it odd not to. I've also had discussions with friends and colleagues, some of whose opinions are quite alien to my way of thinking but so interesting to hear.

Perhaps it is left wing in that case? I am mainly going by what I am seeing on gransnet on the "think like that" bit. As I say politics is only a bit part of my life.

Ruby- I agree of course that our children won't necessarily end up with the same values that we have - there are other influences on them as they develop. I was reacting really to what roses said about worrying that we would influence them with our partisan political views.

Thank goodness that the ballot in Britain is secret and of course should remain that way. Diversity of opinion makes life interesting.

My OP was not about influencing young people in a partisan manner, but my concerns that around 30% of people do not vote.

It is people's prerogative to choose not to vote, but the programme I was listening to interviewed young people who appeared to know nothing about Parliament or voting. I found it very concerning.

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Presumably as we bring our children up they do "learn" and accept many of our own values. After all we teach them how to behave, how to be kind to others etc. it's only natural that many of our political values will rub off too. I have not asked (and have no desire to know) how my DS or DD will vote in the election. Nor will I try and influence their decision by drip feeding them political propaganda to suit my own way of thinking. They are, after all their own person.

Yes I agree J52 about the lack of knowledge. How it all works so to speak should be taught in schools - and often is. It's quite common round here for local secondary schools to organise mock elections with candidates, hustings etc. if as an adult you are interested in politics then your children are surely bound to grow up hearing political views expressed and taking part in those discussions as they get older. The political views we hold are IMO obviously an expression of our core values that our children are bound to be influenced by. There seems to be such a disconnect between the personal and the political with so many people today.

I flatter myself (!) that I have brought up our DDs to think for themselves so to that extent I suppose I have had an influence. But I also very much suspect (know, actually) that they are unlikely to be voting like me. Different constituencies, different candidates .

I think it comes down to whether we really really really believe in something.
As I have said before, I am a floating voter, so am not convinced I know which party is best. To me it depends on what they are likely to deliver, not which banner they come under.

If a person is not sure of their own mind, they are more likely to let their kids make up theirs, in my opinion.

[J52, I was expecting teachers to say what is taught in schools nowadays, but they have not come on, so I cant answer your op any further].

Politics is more than party politics. Discussing fairness, justice, thoughtfulness and compassion for those less fortunate than we are, thinking about how education works, what sort of jobs or careers grandchildren might like to explore, what the police and other emergency services do and how we pay for them, the transportation system and how it serves us, the availability of affordable housing – these and many more topics are all political. Who we choose to rule/serve us o deal with these things is just a small part of politics, although an important one.

And before anybody asks, I don't discuss the cost of building new bridges or the failure of the justice system when an innocent, mentally disabled man has served 21 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. But we do talk about the kindness and bravery of the volunteer fire brigade and the riches of the local library. That's politics too.

Looking at the definition of the word politics, I dont think that some of what you describe fits into that. Some does, but not all.

Okay – not necessarily politics, but definitely political.