Youth bored by 'talk rather than action' find no fun in politics
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Your support makes all the difference.Young people find politicians boring and out of touch and are put off by political jargon and infighting, according to a government report published yesterday.
Many warned that MPs and ministers concentrated on "talk rather than action" and "intentionally" used difficult language to avoid answering questions, the Home Office study found.
Nearly 60 per cent could not name their MP and had little or no interest in politics, while a similar proportion said people should only vote if they care who wins. The report, based on opinion polls and consultation with 14- to 19-year-olds, found that despite the lack of interest in party politics young people were "open to non-traditional forms of involvement in civic life, such as petition-signing, taking part in boycotts, campaigning on local issues, carrying out charitable and voluntary activities and joining campaigning groups".
It said: "It is not that they are switched off from political issues, but rather that they do not relate to the way our political institutions traditionally communicate with the electorate."
The report said a "range of evidence" pointed towards low and falling rates of turn-out at elections among young people. But it said it was too soon to say whether the problem was part of a long-term trend.
The survey of 1,000 young people by the Home Office, was also critical of the media, with many respondents arguing that news was more interested in personalities than policies and issues were made complex and difficult to understand.
John Denham, a Home Office minister, said: "This is the first time the Government has sought the views of children and young people on what they feel abut the democratic process. It may be painful reading for many of us in the political world, but it is time we actually listened to what young people feel and act on it."
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