My first official Q&A took place at Northallerton College where I spoke with a group of sixth form students.
We covered a range of topics, including the justification for a lower minimum wage for younger people, whether we should lower the voting age to 16, and how to engage younger people in politics.
I told the students that whereas 75% of those over 65 vote in national elections , only half of young people (18-24) take part. That gap is the widest it has ever been. How do we fix this? We agreed that politicians had to do more to communicate with younger people in ways they can relate to (the students in the room laughed at the idea they might watch Newsnight or Question Time at 11pm). But also younger people needed to get more engaged as ultimately “decisions are made by those who show up” and many decisions are being taken that impact young people without their involvement.
Every day we rack up more debt will mean young people will have to pay more in interest and debt repayments over their working lives. Policies around job creation or ensuring there is enough affordable housing impact young people directly. This is why it's essential they get involved.