2021 London Mayor Elections: ‘Vote with young people in mind’

On Thursday 6th May 2021 Londoners will have the opportunity to vote for their preferred candidate for London Mayor.

I spent this morning reading each candidate's mini manifesto as well as the full manifestos of those I feel are contenders and whose objectives relate to and benefit the young people I have supported over the last twenty years.

The first thing I noticed about the mini manifestos was that nine of the candidates don’t even mention young people in their overarching objectives. I asked myself ‘would I vote for someone who doesn’t have the needs of young people (our future) on their agenda?’ Unlikely!

There are six candidates that do mention young people in their mini manifestos, however, disappointingly a number of them only mentioned youth in relation to escalating crime rates. I find it terribly sad when politicians do this. We are all aware that youth violence is on the increase in our capital and that something needs to be done about it. This has been an on-going issue for many years now. Why is it that every time a politician mentions young people it always seems to relate to crime and offending? Yes it is a serious problem, but it is one that affects a relatively small minority of young people. It appears politicians and the media rarely have anything other than negative comments to make about young people. It could be argued that the issue of youth violence is used to demonise an entire generation of young people, most of which are not committing any crime and don’t intend to.

Personally, and I know I’m not alone here, I think young people and their mental health should be featuring much more prominently in the candidates’ objectives for supporting London’s youth. This issue is an urgent one that requires significant investment and fast. Not just because of the global pandemic (although I think it’s safe to say this has been the catalyst for increasing poor mental health recently), but because addressing young people’s mental health properly is long overdue! Back in 2018 we saw a 15% increase in young people taking their own lives in the UK (Office for National Statistics). Now in 2021 one in every six children aged between 5 and 16 are likely to have a mental health issue and 75% of young people with poor mental health are not getting the help they need (Children’s Society, Jan 2021). It doesn’t take a doctor of adolescent psychiatry to see that the most pressing issue for youth is mental health and what we need from the Mayor of London is investment and a commitment to support young people and therefore prevent the situation getting any worse.

Youth practitioners need to ask themselves what are the main issues I would like addressing? And which of the candidates tick more of my boxes? We must vote on behalf of the young people we support because they don’t get a say as they aren’t eligible to vote.

My top 3 priorities relating to young people that I would like addressed by the Mayor of London are:

1.    Mental health - investment in both preventative, and clinical, services for young people.

2.    More funding for both targeted and open access youth work across the capital  - especially in areas where there are fewer opportunities or lack of transport links that connect young people with positive activities.

3.    An investment in youth workers both in terms of creating new jobs and training opportunities - when practitioners return to full time direct work with young people, they will be working with youth who haven’t received the support they need for well over a year and will most likely need upskilling or further specialist training on how to effectively support young people with poor mental health and other complex issues.

However you vote in the coming election, make sure you have the young people and the communities you serve firmly in your mind when you choose your candidate.

If you are a resident of London, don’t forget to vote on the 6th May 2021 you can find out more about the candidates here.

 https://www.londonelects.org.uk/im-voter/candidates/mayoral-candidates