Tomorrow night, Dermot O’Leary will be hosting a Question Time special, the audience made up entirely of first-time voters. We’ll see it live from Canary Wharf at 8pm on BBC Three.
You can still apply to be in the audience, putting questions to the panel, here – although I did so last week and haven’t got an invite.
The panellists were announced this morning.
In the Labour corner will be Higher Education Minister and former youngest MP, now 37, David Lammy. He’s been very active in trying to raise the numbers of school-leavers going on to university in his Tottenham constituency, but should be in for some stick after university spending cuts were announced in December, and he delivered some rather contradictory messages on those cuts in January.
Representing the Conservatives… Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Jeremy Hunt. The Surrey MP was in the same Oxford Tory crowd as David Cameron and Boris Johnson, but only entered politics in 2005 after working in public relations. Plus points in that area for his own YouTube channel, though perhaps his infamous 1p phone call expense claim was ill-advised.
Cornwall Lib Dem Julia Goldsworthy’s similarly busy on Facebook, and was the youngest member of the Commons when elected in 2005. She shadows on Communities and Local Government.
Rory Bremner will be there to give them a hard time. Pop star Jamelia and Tim Campbell, who won the first series of the Apprentice back in 2005, will be there… I’m not quite sure why.
It should be a good opportunity to see what we’re concerned with, what questions we want answered, as the election nears. Will the politicians be watching, or at least hopping over from the England game on ITV?
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
An election for Twitts
A month back now, Kent MP Derek Wyatt announced that he’d be launching an app on the iPhone. ‘MyMP’ would make the Labour politician him more accountable and get young people more involved in politics. Wyatt is standing down this year, having been criticised for claiming expenses for scotch eggs and pork pies in 2008. But he might just have the right idea with this.
On his BBC Radio 5 Live show (from 1:24:30) yesterday afternoon, Richard Bacon and one blogger from each side discussed how significant a part ‘new media’ would play in the upcoming election. The Labour Party is known to have contacted Barack Obama’s team for campaigning tips, particularly looking at how social media word of mouth contributed to his success. But, as Tory blogger Iain Dale told Bacon yesterday, we’re maybe five years behind America when it comes to political campaigning through the internet.
Bacon himself may have made the most interesting point, saying that it’s naïve to think putting politics on YouTube is automatically going to make it any less boring. The pitfalls and dangers of online campaigning right now may outweigh the opportunities, as shown by Gordon Brown’s bizarre first forays onto YouTube. “Smile, Gordon, smile!” It’s not a dissimilar conundrum to that over whether the PM should have been baring his soul with Piers Morgan recently. Do we want a rounded human being, in touch with our online activities, or a stubborn, slightly detached PM, with intellect and integrity his strongest assets, fighting our corner?
Online ‘guerrilla’ campaigning could play a leading role in the general election, though, because of the leading parties’ finances. Labour has only got the funds for a budget campaign, while this week’s Lord Ashcroft non-dom tax revelation could make things legally tricky if he is seen to back an election-winning Tory campaign.
And so to the increasingly popular Photoshop-spoofing sites that may just be the future – actually, the present – for British political satire. The iconic Spitting Image ran from 1984 to 1996, chiefly sending up Margaret Thatcher and the royals. ITV introduced Headcases in the same spirit in 2008, although with 3D animation rather than puppets, but after eight episodes we haven’t seen it since. Now, mydavidcameron.com claims 250,000 unique visitors in six weeks, and includes, my favourite, a mock poster of George Osborne reading Economics for Dummies, the caption reading: “I’ve never studied economics before, but Dave said I need to sort out the economy”. The retaliation – or perhaps that’s not the right word – comes in the form of a man with a black eye, who says: “I’ve never voted Labour before, but I have worked for Gordon Brown…” MyLabourPosters claims 110,000 hits in its first week.
These sites can take a place in young peoples’ news agendas – which is coming increasingly from online sources.
On his BBC Radio 5 Live show (from 1:24:30) yesterday afternoon, Richard Bacon and one blogger from each side discussed how significant a part ‘new media’ would play in the upcoming election. The Labour Party is known to have contacted Barack Obama’s team for campaigning tips, particularly looking at how social media word of mouth contributed to his success. But, as Tory blogger Iain Dale told Bacon yesterday, we’re maybe five years behind America when it comes to political campaigning through the internet.
Bacon himself may have made the most interesting point, saying that it’s naïve to think putting politics on YouTube is automatically going to make it any less boring. The pitfalls and dangers of online campaigning right now may outweigh the opportunities, as shown by Gordon Brown’s bizarre first forays onto YouTube. “Smile, Gordon, smile!” It’s not a dissimilar conundrum to that over whether the PM should have been baring his soul with Piers Morgan recently. Do we want a rounded human being, in touch with our online activities, or a stubborn, slightly detached PM, with intellect and integrity his strongest assets, fighting our corner?
Online ‘guerrilla’ campaigning could play a leading role in the general election, though, because of the leading parties’ finances. Labour has only got the funds for a budget campaign, while this week’s Lord Ashcroft non-dom tax revelation could make things legally tricky if he is seen to back an election-winning Tory campaign.
And so to the increasingly popular Photoshop-spoofing sites that may just be the future – actually, the present – for British political satire. The iconic Spitting Image ran from 1984 to 1996, chiefly sending up Margaret Thatcher and the royals. ITV introduced Headcases in the same spirit in 2008, although with 3D animation rather than puppets, but after eight episodes we haven’t seen it since. Now, mydavidcameron.com claims 250,000 unique visitors in six weeks, and includes, my favourite, a mock poster of George Osborne reading Economics for Dummies, the caption reading: “I’ve never studied economics before, but Dave said I need to sort out the economy”. The retaliation – or perhaps that’s not the right word – comes in the form of a man with a black eye, who says: “I’ve never voted Labour before, but I have worked for Gordon Brown…” MyLabourPosters claims 110,000 hits in its first week.
These sites can take a place in young peoples’ news agendas – which is coming increasingly from online sources.
Monday, March 1, 2010
A Manifesto, of sorts
Millions of us, aged between 18 and 22, will be able to vote in our first UK general election in 2010.
But, will we vote? How will we vote?
Why will we vote how we vote? What is it that we care about?
Who will appeal to us? What will they try to sell us?
Who’s fighting for us? Who’s fighting our corner?
I'm going to be looking at what part first-time voters will play in the 2010 general election.
Care for the elderly has taken “centre stage” in campaigning, and education never fails to appear, but what about young adults, just-finished school, just-finished university, out of work?
I’ll ask these questions over the coming weeks, providing links to the best election coverage that concerns the young. I’ll put 2 and 2 together, even comment for myself now n again.
Perhaps this can be a one-stop election lowdown for young voters who may decide not to hide behind: “They’re all the same anyway; my vote won’t make any difference”.
Most important is to hear from you - give your opinion, leave a comment in the box at the bottom there. Easy!
ME:
Increasingly politically aware in recent years, energised – as a wannabe journalist should be – by the possibility, even probability, of a hung parliament.
With no parental political partisanship passed-down, am thoroughly undecided on who to vote for.
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