APPG Youth Affairs – Conservatives – 17 February 2015
By Youth Ambassador Jack 
It was just a matter of days until Parliament dissolved for the election campaign to begin. When the final of three special General Election APPG Youth Affairs debates was held and very fitting that the leading party of the coalition in power. Put forward to the young people in the audience their case to be reelected in the General Election. Following the success of Labour and Liberal Democrat events.
Chaired (with good impartiality) by Labour MP, Julie Hilling,
The Conservative APPG was led by
- Minister for Civil Society, Rob Wilson
- MP for Norwich South, Chloe Smith
- Deputy Chair of Conservative Future, Stephen Canning.
- British Youth Council Chair, Mita Desai,
Mita Desi promoted the launch of the new youth manifesto, with the top five issues voted by BYC members.
The event on this occasion was set to be a more structured debate, with themes selected such as democratic engagement, skills and employment, followed by welfare reform. Opening the debate, Rob Wilson praised the success of the National Citizen Service (NCS) within the present government and how it has allowed more young people to reach their potential as a result. Chloe Smith gave a passionate reasoning why she stands for Conservative beliefs and that the original reason she got involved was because of the poor transport in her area – a problem which still affects many to this day, and raised in the debate too. Stephen Canning himself is an elected councillor in his Essex constituency and has authority of the youth portfolio in the local area.
The debate opend with engagement, with one issue that cropped consistently in the questions from the audience – Votes at 16. This is a topical issue which will surely become a big talking point in the next Parliament. Both Labour and the Lib Dems have openly expressed their support for the campaign to become a reality if they were to have power. While the Conservatives themselves are not openly opposed to the motion, many like Rob Wilson will not declare their position, whereas Chloe Smith herself is more open to the prospect, especially after the success of the Scottish Referendum. The Minister himself announced that the government will be making an official response to the Youth Select Committee’s report last year on Votes at 16 shortly. On other issues, while the Lobbying Act was seen as not an overall problem to the campaigning work of charities, the panel were in agreement that a plain English and shortened manifesto would be beneficial.
Within issues of employment and welfare, whilst the party are very keen to champion the growth of 3 million more in a Conservative government, many were concerned that even working in the role does not necessarily mean a full time job afterwards. One young person expressed this view, from her experiences on unpaid internships and low paid apprenticeships (which have had a small boost announced), some were still struggling to advance after that stage. Transport too was seen as an ongoing problem in which the lack of frequency and expense in areas outside of London was immediately disadvantaging many young people. Even the panel could not come up with an immediate answer on that issue. On welfare housing benefit was the greatest cause for concern for audience members, particularly those representing the YMCA. The Conservative announcement they would scrap the benefit for the under-25s has stirred many fears, but was assured by Rob Wilson that there would be many exemptions in the reform so those most vulnerable should not be impacted.
As the last of the debates closed and final comments by the BYC Chair, warning the parties of the consequences if they chose to ignore the issues raised in the charity’s manifesto, it will soon be the final weeks before the chance to register to vote expires and potentially leaving a whole section of the youngest eligible to vote without a say. If in doubt, register to do so now.
