So the Tories want to be ‘cool’ to attract young people. They don’t understand | Abi Wilkinson

The defining theme of young lives is insecurity: lectures on keeping things as they are won’t wash if you are in debt and worried about climate collapse

Among a certain section of the Conservative commentariat, there’s been a lot of chatter about the cultural factors encouraging young people to support Labour. Unwilling to take the steps necessary to address material issues such as spiralling housing costs, wage stagnation and the casualisation of employment, they hunt for alternative answers. Increased higher-education participation is exposing younger generations to the pernicious propaganda of Marxist academics. The nebulous, intractable characteristic that is “coolness” – and how the left seems to have a monopoly on it nowadays.

The thing is, it’s not only teens and 20-somethings who the Conservatives are struggling to appeal to. YouGov has identified that anyone under 47 is statistically more likely to back Labour. It’s embarrassingly obtuse to suggest this trend might be reversed if they could only get a few grime artists on their side.

They cite the looming threat of climate change as a reason they are hesitant to bring children into the world

Related: Tories will make young people better off, chancellor promises

Continue reading... October 10, 2017 at 12:30PM