At The Conference...What's YOUTH Got to Do With It?

The latest awards for young volunteers.

In today's ever unreliable agenda setting of uncertainty and flux, there are few things to be said which many Conservative Party delegates which will be differing with one-another. Will Boris the Bruiser reign as Prime Minister in 2015? What will be the Chancellor's solution to his £16 billion shortfall in the coming year - job seekers, disability or the Cabinet's own salaries (I would be reasonably sceptical of such a proposal)? Finally, can the party shirk off their present sleeping partners in order to win their first, majority general election in over 20 years? It's little wonder the party refer to their achievements of what must seem like such vintage times in today's social configuration. However, beneath the big headlines of the latest soundbytes on every political columnist's lips, how to the successive generation to the movers and shakers slot into this? As part of my new role as a vInspired Youth Advisory Board (more details to explained in a later post), it was my personal opportunity to represent a worthwhile area of interest of shaping the upcoming Department discussions which affect at least the wide of majority of college and budding university graduates...Well, at least in respect anyway that MPs and advisors to the government give their own testimony of the difficulties that anyone aged 25 or under have or are yet to face. Unsurprisingly, the questions that were poised on this modestly compact audience were of unemployment, youth services and bullying issues which have a collective body of nodding heads and looks of acknowledgement.

The Debate Begins...

After the five star cuisine single courses of sausages and mash potato, it was crisis already for the small band of YAB ambassadors coming to the event. One fellow sixth form student, Sarah Baker, was stranded at the other side of the main conference arenas with no solution as to where exactly she should go next. The advice of retracing her steps didn't sit down to well with the confusion that was there already. On the other side, first year university student Tamanna Miah, was lost in translation as she struggled to make her way from the train station initially. Fortunately, both had managed to turn up with little time to spare, as the debates were about to get underway. The celebration had a celebratory warm-up as dedicated volunteers received their prized certificates from UK Youth, maybe as an attempt to soften the hard critique the MPs faced. With panelists including Nick Hurd MP, Minister for Civil Society and Tim Loughton MP, recently dropped Children's Minster, the questions were coming at high speed, as they were supported by Rosina St James, British Youth Council Chair, Jermain Pinnock, young representative of O2 Think Big and Shaun Bailey, the new PM adviser on crime. Being associated as the party are, the first question to kickstart the evening was the privilege of a public school education. Nick Hurd, unsurprisingly, was one of the first to trundle out the fact he was an old Etonian 'born and bred', but excused himself with the fact that he was a "big believer in social acton and there are some very interesting opportunities out there.". However, as only a weak minority of those people were able to attend the most sought after universities, which reflects a damning indictment on a system which still regards the present form of A-Levels as still unsuitable for young people to even apply for. And with reports of slipping standards of the UK's top universities, there will only inevitably be an implosion of high demands, poor output.

It was also on another highly charged question of the evening that the widening of the voting franchise to those over 16 began to cause high tensions among the audience. Rosina St James argued sharply that "We're using other platforms to protest, to have our voices heard," and commenting on the poor level of trust that the young have against their ministers in government. Both Hurd and Loughton were united in their dismissal of the idea, citing that low turn outs between 18-25 year olds are reason enough to argue those under 18 are not eligible for the moment at least to have that power in their hands. However, as the vote on the subject approached, there was a close competition between those who agreed and disagreed on the statement, with only just over 50% voting thta 16s should be given this right. Evidently, whilst such a bill is unlikely to pass through this parliament, there is still an air of caution that levels of maturity and political interest are still considerably debatable among the current generation.

The YAB standing alongside Tim Loughton, former Children's
Minister in the middle.

Fortunately enough, I was one of the few chosen audience members to be selected to ask an open question as the panel took to the floor. With the subject of youth services cuts in some cases hitting over £5 million in counties such as Dorset and £100 million in total across England. It was a question how the government would support this shortfall with opportunities like the National Citizen Service, when there wasn't even any open youth clubs for younger children to attend. Unfortunately, both MPs felt a strange reluctance to answer the latter part of this question and could not account for the young people outside of the NCS scheme. It was little wonder, with youth services always largely the first sector to be cut when times are tough...

On the evening as a whole, it was quite restrained (naturally, we don't want to assault the panelists as if we were in Westminster anyway), but it was interesting enough for many young people who will have their first taste of becoming lifelong conference visitors. And, of course, vInspired were again well represented with their political grandees of the YAB.