Looking to revive the youth vote

Date published: 21 November 2014


Oldham’s Youth Council was established in 2006 and each year has gone from strength to strength.

Its relationship with Oldham council has developed constantly - indeed in July 2012, history was made when the youth council was granted constitutional rights - the only youth council in the country to be involved in democratic processes within local government so directly.

We have a seat at the table of democracy in Oldham and it feels great. To work so closely with decision-makers in Oldham has made us feel valued.

This isn’t a political party trend but rather a cross-party belief in young people’s right to be involved. It demonstrates that Oldham recognises the many benefits to involve the young.

The youth council has asked local young people which issues they want to present to full council.

So far we have presented motions on issues such as better scrutiny on bullying in schools, gaining support to lower the voting age, encouraging schools to offer work experience, improving access to mental health services and the installation of the chewing gum bins around Oldham.

Our 20-minute slot at each full council meeting has changed the way we perceive our local council and its members.

But there’s still work to be done. Oldham’s local council and European elections saw a turnout of below 40 per cent, with the lowest demographic that of 18 to 24-year-olds.

This has prompted the creation of the “League of Young Voters” campaign, which aims to revive the British youth vote. Oldham Youth Council runs the local initiative.

We are eager to make voter apathy among young people in Oldham a thing of the past.

Last week, Oldham Council and youth council was involved in the first phase of a European programme called the Inter-cultural Dimension for European Active Citizenship - luckily its working name is the catchier IDEA-C.

The kick-off event was in Sicily,where representatives from 12 European countries looked at causes of low voter-turnout, local, national and European elections and possible solutions to the problem.

IDEA-C will implement a rich international programme of events including 13 local workshops in each partner country.

We are looking forward to delivering our event here for Oldham’s young people that will focus on increasing and encouraging young people’s participation in democracy.

Mariam Waseem attended the first event for Oldham: “The event was amazing, hearing from each country how their democracy works and what attitudes local citizens have to democracy was really eye-opening.

“Everyone was very interested in Oldham’s co-operative approach and it was great to share what’s happening in our town with an international audience. Engaging young people in democracy is a key aim for us as a youth council.”