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What Matters? Non-Electoral Youth Political Participation in Austerity Britain

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  • Muhammad Rakib Ehsan

    (Department of Politics and International Relations, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham TW20 0EX, Surrey, UK)

Abstract

Since the 2008 global financial crisis, Britain’s young people have been disproportionately affected by policies of welfare retrenchment. Youth disillusionment with austerity has been cited as a reason for the youthquake witnessed in the 2017 General Election, where the Labour Party’s better-than-expected performance resulted in the loss of the ruling Conservative Party government’s parliamentary majority. The degree of one-party dominance among younger voters was unprecedented, with Labour’s aggressively pro-youth agenda paying dividends. However, this paper takes the attention away from voting behaviour and towards non-electoral forms of youth political participation in the UK. What are the strongest predictors of non-electoral political participation among young British people? Three possible predictors are explored: educational attainment, level of trust in politicians, and party identification. Three forms of non-electoral participation are considered: signing a petition, taking part in a boycott and sharing political messages on social media. Using a bespoke representative survey commissioned by Hope Not Hate, this paper finds that educational attainment does not have a particularly strong effect on non-electoral participation, with Labour Party identification being significantly associated with all three forms. A strong relationship is also discovered between identifying with a ‘minor party’ and non-electoral political participation among Britain’s young people.

Suggested Citation

  • Muhammad Rakib Ehsan, 2018. "What Matters? Non-Electoral Youth Political Participation in Austerity Britain," Societies, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-9, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:8:y:2018:i:4:p:101-:d:176200
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hakhverdian, Armen & Mayne, Quinton, 2012. "Institutional Trust, Education, and Corruption: A Micro-Macro Interactive Approach," Scholarly Articles 9639965, Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
    2. Oecd, 2015. "Are Young People Attaining Higher Levels of Education than their Parents?," Education Indicators in Focus 28, OECD Publishing.
    3. Li, Yaojun & Marsh, David, 2008. "New Forms of Political Participation: Searching for Expert Citizens and Everyday Makers," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 38(2), pages 247-272, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ines Nelly Saltiel & Pantelis Sklias, 2023. "From Schoolyards to Government: A Comparative Analysis of the Positive Effect of Teenager Participation in Local Governance," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-15, October.

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