What do kids think about local politics?
Why is it that adults are the only ones who get to share their opinions on politics when it's kids who are the voice of tomorrow? Surely it's us the politicians should be listening to!
| We should count just as much as adults count. We should have an election where we can vote. |
We spoke to children from across London who were only too pleased to have their say on local government.
"I don't think my local council cares about what I think," says Sally, 13. "They just care about rich people and putting money in their own pockets."
Sally lives on a North London estate and feels that the council does very little for her and her family. "They might have built new homes on our estate but it's just so that they make more money. The council's not interested in cleaning it up."
Like Sally, many other young people on the estate also believe that the council hasn't done enough for them and one of the biggest concerns seems to be safety: "There's a lot of violence around here because there's nothing for us to do," says Denise, 10.
Sally's quick to point out that there is a youth club on the estate but it's not open at weekends when it's needed most. "Maybe if it was open, the older boys wouldn't get into so much mischief," she says.
Another major concern for these children is that they've got nowhere to play. Even though there are parks in the area, they're not suitable for everyone: "A lot of the parks are just for babies. Why would we want to play in a park made just for little kids?" says Denise
The other problem, says Lisa, 10, also from the estate, is that many of the parks in the area have been turned into new houses. She understands that new housing is important but doesn't understand why the council keeps turning all the "good" spaces into buildings.
The concerns expressed by the kids living on this North London estate are issues that worry other young people all over London. But the question is how do you get the message across to the adults who run our neighbourhoods? For the children we spoke to the answer was very clear - "listen to us!"
As Lilly, 15, from East London, points out, her council always seems to be fixing up pavements and putting in street lighting but they don't listen to what people, especially young people, really want.
Children's Parliaments
Sally reckons that giving children a vote is a good idea: "We should count just as much as adults count, even more because the same things that bother adults bother us. We should have an election where we can vote."
The idea isn't as radical as some people might think and already in several places across the country, children's parliaments have been set up.
Prudence, 9 and Jaime 10, both live in North London and were elected to represent their school on the Islington Pupil Parliament. Jaime explains that being a member of the parliament is just like being on a council for grown-ups but instead it's for kids. "Adults have responsibilities and so do we," she says.
Their friends have been really enthusiastic about their involvement and Prudence and Jaime are often asked to raise certain concerns at meetings. Both feel that kids identify more with them than they do with distant adult councillors.
Already there are a number of issues that have been taken up with the council and Prudence and Jaime are confident that they're being taken seriously: "There's a market near our school and it sometimes blocks the entrance to the road that leads to the school gates. Because of us, the council's been trying to get it moved," explains Jaime.
"I think they're listening to us because we are kids and they know we've got lots of important things to say," she says.
Prudence adds that the council has also listened to them about school dinners, which lots of kids were not happy about. Now they're considering adding a vegetarian option at her school.
It's not surprising that most of the kids we spoke to knew very little or nothing at all about the recent local elections. It seems a lot of young people aren't really connected to what's going on in the world of adult politics simply because they don't feel a part of it.
What is clear though is that kids are really behind the idea of young people representing other young people on Pupil and Children's Parliaments because they see it as a way of their voices being heard.
It used to be that children were seen and not heard. But c'mon, this is the 21st century and we want both, thank you very much!
About the team
This story was produced by Ella Parry-Davis, 13, Rachel Schon, 14, Axel Landin, 11, and Shannon Carr, 13. It was published in LGIU Briefing, the magazine of the Local Government Information Unit.
