By Luca Fasulo

As we come closer to the July 4 general election, it’s important to shine a light on an often-forgotten segment of the voter population.

Students and young people have spent years having decisions made for them, and being spoken about without being consulted. As a large proportion of us are under 18, we are not seen as a bloc worth recognising.

What is forgotten is that by the time a general election comes around, the ignored often feel contempt for those who have legislated for them, and therefore don’t support the incumbent and feel disenfranchised from the system.

This year, students make up roughly 10% of the electorate, and are buzzing to have their voices heard. As a student voice leader at Canterbury College I have been working with the National Union of Students (NUS) on a campaign to ensure that students ‘Turn Up’ to vote.

The general election has been called at an incredibly unfortunate time for us. In higher education, many students are already off campus and it is a struggle to communicate. In further education, our students are leaving for the year and engagement is at an all-time low.

Young people have been disenfranchised from politics for years, having been ignored and growing up in a time where politics has been increasingly relevant, and decreasingly about us.

Engagement regularly occurs in two places; through education establishments and social media. Although there are challenges, students unions around the country are pushing the message that you should educate yourself, learn about what policies affect you and make sure you vote.

The major political parties have noticed that young people will be influential in this election, and are trying to reach out. My constituency, Canterbury, is a prime example of the impact students can have, overturning the long-held Conservative safe seat in 2017, for Labour.

There’s been lots of campaigning through social media this year, such as TikTok, but it simply feels childish. We are constantly pushed this narrative of why you shouldn’t vote for X party, by Y party (often Labour and Conservative and vice versa), but we never seem to be told why we should vote for a party.

It feels like we are not seen as worthy of having campaign promises and manifesto points directed at us; we’re just seen as a voting bloc to try to influence through ‘funny memes’.

If you do manage to find your way to a party’s manifesto, there actually does seem to be some good policies for young people.

The Conservative’s pledge to expand mental health support teams to every school and college by 2030 promises positive change, but you have to wonder why it hasn’t happened already? Other parties have similar aims, with the Liberal Democrats vowing to place a qualified mental health professional in every school, and Labour pledging to establish open access services for children and young people in every community through a network of hubs.

However, Rishi Sunak’s party then asks us to partake in National Service, for a government that has not done their service for us. Worse still, from the current look of the policy, it will only apply to those that are still too young to vote in this general election – another example of the Conservative Party making decisions for us, and not with us.

Meanwhile, the Labour Party, Liberal Democrats and The Green Party all promise to bring votes at 16, allowing another large proportion of the population to have their voices heard. But once again, these manifestos are not being pushed in front of young people, so without the work of students unions, how will they find out?

So then, it is up to our prospective parliamentary candidates (PPCs) to engage with young constituents in a meaningful way. The parties at large have proven that they do not see us as worthy of being given as much attention as other demographics. In my constituency, hustings have taken place that allowed PPC’s to interact with students. However the event last Wednesday at Canterbury Christ Church University was, in in a word, disappointing.

It was organised at a university and yet it felt like we weren't the focus of the debate. We did get mentioned a couple times, but it took until pretty much right near the end for there to be a question specifically about us.

Through all the challenges placed in front of us, from legislation on voter ID creating barriers for young people, and the general election itself being called when students will find it harder to unite, we have still proven we care.

According to the NUS, as of last week 58% of registrations to vote since the election was called have been from young people. We will turn up, our vote is our voice, and we will be heard.

Luca Fasulo studies graphic design at Canterbury College and is Student Union President.