16 to 17-year-olds vote in Welsh elections
Cavan Griffin, Rhonda Cynon Taff Socialist Party
Since 2021, 16 to 17-year-olds now have the right to vote in Welsh election. Although overlooked, they are the future.
As a student myself, I’ve gone through the stress of tuition fees, the poor excuses for public transport, and not being able to afford a car. As well as the universal experience of horrific working conditions.
Young people are constantly exploited by employers for their lower pay, including myself. At age 17, I was working at a bar past legal hours, being an ‘honorary’ barman for £7 less than everyone else.
This is not a unique experience. Many readers will have their own stories.
On a zero-hour contract, if you attempt to stand up for what’s right, it can lead to termination, as happened to me. That’s why we need to stand together collectively.
We also need a political voice. That’s why the Socialist Party is standing with the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC).
We oppose every cut to public services. We say renationalise public transport, to allow effective and affordable travel for everyone.
We fight for free education. How can we expect teenagers to promise thousands to institutions, when the skills they will gain will only help improve the world?
Continuation of the status quo will only be detrimental to youth. That’s why we’re fighting for a socialist alternative in these elections.
Student: Why I’m standing
Ben Lees, Birmingham Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) candidate for Bournbrook & Selly Park
Decades of Tory and Labour austerity has hit Birmingham hard. The council spends more money trying to break the bin strike, than it ‘saved’ from pay cuts.
Students are an afterthought. We are subject to the whims of rogue landlords.
On top of substantial student debt, many are forced to find minimum wage work during time they could otherwise focus on studying.
Labour, the Tories, and Lib Dems offer only different flavours of the same disappointing policies, favouring the rich. Reform prey on the discontent of disenfranchised workers by disguising Trump-style attacks on vulnerable immigrants, women, and LGBTQ+ people as a solution.
Many say they’re voting Green as an alternative. But the Green Party has failed to commit to opposing the same cuts to services and jobs that we’ve all been forced to deal with.
That’s why I’m standing as a socialist candidate. With the power of workers and students, council cuts can be opposed, lighting and transport can be increased to make people safer, and we can end the housing crisis.
