Young people are fired up about many social issues, but traditional politics doesn’t seem to be offering the solutions we need. Youth assemblies may be one of the solutions to creating a more accessible political arena where all voices are not only heard, but hold power.

More than three years has passed since the world experienced the power of youth activists in the climate change emergency protests in 2019. Protests took place in most cities around the UK as students stormed the streets, skipped school, educated their friends and family and publicly fought for the future and health of their planet.

Why has no legislative action been taken by the government?

Many young people feel that we live in a democracy where the opportunity to influence government legislation is near to none. In 2019, the turnout of voters aged 18-42 was 47% compared to 75% for people aged 45-54. In 2018, 67% of people aged 18-24 were registered to vote in comparison to 90% of people aged 54-64. This data clearly shows the youths' disengagement with voting. They're not not voting because they don’t care; they’re simply uninspired and untrusting of their leaders.

Young people are aware of the importance and influence of legislation. Interclimate published a report in 2021 which showed that 75% of young people believe the government has the most power to change the course of climate change for the better.

With no time to focus on large world-damaging issues, the government has not prioritised tackling climate change on a national level. In part to the lack of accessibility and opportunity young people have in directly influencing government decisions.

As a young person, I can tell you that young people do hold strong and influential views on issues. The true problem is that there are no channels of communication or support that enable us to put those views into practice. Many young people feel great frustration on a daily basis. Much of this frustration translates itself into educating others; whether that be on social media or conversations with friends. This happens in the hope that when our generation holds some form of age-legitimacy, we will listen to the youth of that time.

What can we do to improve the link between the youth and government?

Youth assemblies provide a platform that cultivates leadership and opens up a channel to directly communicate with those in power.

Youth assemblies do exist in the UK. Brighton holds a Youth Climate Assembly which involves multiple students (aged 12-25) and local MPs such as Caroline Lucas and Lloyd Russell-Moyle. They advise Brighton and Hove City Council on concrete actions to take on important issues such as air pollution. An independent advisory board was used (Ipsos MORI) to ensure the runnings of the assembly were transparent and fair for all.

Whilst the youth assembly was effective in advising the City Council on a variety of issues surrounding climate change, it only ran for five sessions. Unfortunately, youth assemblies are only highly effective when they have long-term commitment of adult partners and sometimes external funding/support.

In order to have a true impact, assemblies must be connected to parliament. Parliament must also make it a priority to use them. This can be done by creating multiple assemblies for different issues.

Youth assemblies should be elected and representative of the electorate. It is this that will make assemblies legitimate and therefore unavoidable for politicians to engage with.

Why is change needed?

A healthy democracy allows citizens to have a voice everyday, not once every 4-5 years of elections. There needs to be constant communication throughout all levels of society. This will not only increase public participation, but also create an overall sense of shared power in British politics.

At this moment in time, our views and priorities are being pushed to the side by politicians. Whilst a new Climate Change Bill is currently on its second read in the Commons, it is clear that the need for urgent action is being ignored. In the UK, Ipsos Mori found that 80% of people think that the climate crisis is a global emergency; so why has no national legislation been passed since 2008?

The power of our voices is diminishing, our political system must change.

It is clear that youth assemblies have huge amounts of potential to increase youth inclusion, creating a fair, accessible and healthy democracy for all.

What is the Government waiting for?

Olivia Welsh, student at Royal Holloway University of London, doing work experience at Unlock Democracy.