Young Leeds voters say future is ‘less bright’ ahead of election

Archie Lowery, who is 22 and studies history and politics, said he thought the way politicians engaged with young people could feel “patronising”, and they designed policies for older generations because they believed they were more likely to vote.

He felt the catch-all term “young people” was in itself misleading as it assumed those aged between 18 and 24 cared about “broadly the same things, and have broadly the same interests and will respond to broadly the same messaging”.

Meanwhile, Hannah Catterall, 22, who has dual nationality, said she would vote in this general election for the first time.

The philosophy student said she believed the future set out for young voters was “quite bleak”, with crises in housing, mental health and the cost of living.

She said she would “like to have some hope that would change, but there’s a lack of incentive and a lack of hope among young people”.

Voting in the general election takes place on Thursday 4 July.

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