Young people and the NI Assembly elections

For many young people, university can be their first real exposure to politics, in which they eagerly vote in the Students’ Union elections, or join student political parties at the Freshers fair – the latter often beginning with good intentions but ending in excessive emails being redirected to junk mail.

But how do students feel about ‘real life’ politics? Young people tend to be disillusioned with governments at the best of times, but in Northern Ireland, the question “why bother voting when nothing ever changes?” seems to hold more weight than anywhere else. No matter how big of a social media or campus presence smaller, progressive parties have, our elections always seem to boil down to orange and green.

But it shouldn’t be this way. We are a generation in which violence in our villages, towns and cities doesn’t dominate the news and influence our every day life. We are living in a post-Troubles era and the majority of young people are eager to live in a more secular, progressive society, in which the sport you play or the name you bear doesn’t matter.

But the only way to realise this vision is to demand it from our politicians. How can real issues affecting us right now, such as the struggling health service, education, and the RHI scandal be addressed and a solution sought if our politicians are in a constant squabble about the past?

We at the Tab Belfast want to know your thoughts. Vote in the polls below to show how you feel about the NI Assembly elections.