What I Want From the Government

I want the government to focus on all young people and nurture the talent we have in order to help our country keep up with global competitors. We are repeatedly told that we are the future of the nation. If indeed we are the future of Britain, why are our leaders not taking us seriously and investing in us?
|

When I was asked: "Chayya, what do you want from the government?" I found myself struggling to give an answer.

There are so many things that I want, but in my heart, I know that none of them will be achieved in my lifetime. At this moment in time, I don't have faith in any of the political leaders on offer because they never to seem fulfill their promises.

I live in a part of London which is renowned for youth violence. Another issue that has reared its ugly head is hostility towards ethnic minorities. There used to so many youth clubs, support groups, campaigns to end gang culture and community leaders who helped hundreds of young people turn their lives around and be better people.

Since the coalition government came in, these channels of support have more or less disappeared and have left hundreds of young people feeling more isolated. angry and invisible than ever before.

Yet this is never addressed by our leaders. Yes I understand the importance of reducing the deficit, making cutbacks and trying to steer our nation into an economically stable position.

Getting our economy up and running again is vital, but we need to do it in a way that is sustainable, long term and profitable for us.

Yes, I understand that our infatuation with anti-immigration and anti-Europe is something that is not going to go away but at what cost can we keep pulling the wool over our eyes?

Is it to the point where so many communities and young people collapse because they simply cannot cope with rising costs of living and lack of support from public services?

Or is it to the point where ethnic minorities feel so excluded from society that they drop off the radar and unplug themselves from society?

It's time to stop blaming immigrants, when most of them come here to do jobs that most Brits are too arrogant/proud to do.

It's time to stop berating ethnic minorities for not "integrating" because of how a senseless minority chooses to behave.

It's time to stop undermining young people and branding them all as: "lazy and entitled" when the Prince's Trust has predicted a youth business boom in the UK. In addition, there are now record numbers of young people are starting up their own businesses - around 5% of young people are self-employed.

Instead I want the government to focus on all young people and nurture the talent we have in order to help our country keep up with global competitors. We are repeatedly told that we are the future of the nation. If indeed we are the future of Britain, why are our leaders not taking us seriously and investing in us?

There is a wealth of extremely talented young people in all sectors that is simply not being tapped into. It's no wonder that so many are leaving the UK for parts of Asia, the USA and the Middle East for jobs where their talents are being recognised and used.

A YouGov study from May 2014 shows that there are currently 3.3million first time voters in the UK. The report also shows that only 41% of young people said that they will definitely vote in the upcoming Election. This means that a whopping two million young people are planning on not voting at all.

The rest of us, including myself, are not sure which party will actually fulfill its promise to young people. We all remember the Lib Dems' infamous u-turn on free tuition fees and the sense of betrayal almost every young person felt in their heart.

I firmly believe that our leaders have a lot to prove to the youth of Britain, because right now, there's a lot of anger, distrust and resentment towards our Government who is not listening to us.

The democratic right to vote is one of our most important rights and it is essential that we use it. The problem that the British youth now face is that we're damned if we vote and we're damned if we don't vote.