Yes
By David Levene
Far more important than lots of direct experience, in terms of being able to effectively represent people, is being able to empathise with them. Taking Heslington as an example, despite being a tiny ward, it contains undergraduates, postgraduates, mature students, international students, students’ parents, academics, farmers, retirees, office workers, retail workers, health workers, charity workers, and so on.
Even if you believe that experience and age are the same thing – which, having known students who have cared for elderly relatives, or had children, or managed a business, I don’t – there’s no single person of any age who would be able to claim to have walked in the shoes of all those different people. What is needed is the ability to understand where someone’s coming from even if you haven’t experienced it yourself.
Which is why engaging with the electorate is so important. Is anyone really surprised that student turnout is so low when most candidates don’t bother to canvass student accommodation, posters get taken down, and the mail system is unusable? An energy for campaigning and a passion for the issues have got next to nothing to do with age (in fact, you could make the argument that these things often come more easily with relative youth).
There is, admittedly, an issue around the professionalisation of politics, where our representatives come almost exclusively from a political class that has minimal experience outside of the Westminster (or, in York’s case, Guildhall) bubble. Which is why it’s important that politicians have experience outside of party politics – either from their past career or, in my own case, alongside their political responsibilities.
All in all, what politics needs most is diversity. Diversity of age, of background, of sexual preference and gender identity, is healthy for democracy and keeps new ideas flowing. A group of representatives made up exclusively of one age bracket will not work as well as one made up from a range of ages.
Even if you disagree with all that, consider this. As of the 2001 Census, 37.6% of York’s population was aged under 29. But before the elections held last week, the youngest City of York Councillor – Labour leader and now Leader of the Council James Alexander – was 29. How representative is that?
No
By Max Sugarman
The election a week last Thursday was one of little surprise. As expected, half the population didn’t vote, those that did took their revenge on the Lib Dems and the question over AV was laid to rest. For most students around campus, life went on, barely affected by the events. Yet, for the few students and recent graduates who actually ran and campaigned, the election was their first chance at breaking into the glum world of professional politics. So it follows that, among all the other questions that the election posed, the issue of electing students is one that needs to be addressed.
Before I go on a rant, I feel I should state that I have nothing against any of the candidates who ran. Trying to change and improve the community is a very noble thing to do, and most candidates stand because they truly believe they can better the lives of other people.
Nevertheless, students and recent graduates simply do not have the experience necessary to go straight into a professional political role. Being a councillor is a complex role that needs both good knowledge of the local area and the skill and ability that comes with experience. At most, students live in York for four years, at least one of those years on campus. Such a short period of time isn’t enough to fully understand the issues that matter to locals, especially when compared with people who have grown up here, and seen the city change over the years.
Sure, student and recent graduate candidates may have had some work experience and have been an active member of their respective parties for years, but such activities do not provide a base to take an elected position from. The usual line: ‘I am reading Politics and am interested in local issues’ is banded around to camouflage the lack of qualifications these students have. Studying Politics gives you the same credentials to become a councillor as an English degree gives you to become a publisher.
So, my rant is over, and I can hear the grumblings of readers asking if it really matters if students are running in elections. Yes, it’s a small dilemma in the grand scheme of things, but the problem represents a growing trend of young people clawing their way into politics and forging a career. The politicians look slicker and the swarms of followers get larger, but breeds of politicians are created with no knowledge of what an average job is like. Maybe for once, we should sit back and gain experience of the world, before we rush off to try to change it.