NPCU’s James Sloam and Ben O’Loughlin have published a short piece in Political Insight reporting on how young people in London think politically about growing up in a difficult world. They find that while they feel they should care about climate change and other vast problems, their actual daily concerns are very direct. Having mental stability and a safe place to live are their most urgent worries. This feeds into what Ben and Marie Gillespie called ‘cycles of insecurity’ in their research during the war on terror. Anxiety about one issue feeds into stress about another, creating an endless cycle of problems that makes them feel trapped and pessimistic.

How to escape this? What James and Ben find it that young Londoners want to be part of the conversation about the public policies that decide things like travel costs or safe streets, and this should be ongoing, not a one-off event. This leads to questions about how to make a sustainable public policy process in which young people can participate on a long-term basis. Being disconnected or excluded from public debate is not helping them. This is a fundamental issue in UK politics for the coming decade.

Their piece is here, or email ben.oloughlin@rhul.ac.uk for a copy. Thanks to Political Insight editor Peter Geoghegan. They will also present the paper at the American Political Science Association (APSA) Annual Convention, Seattle, September 30 - October 3.