News story

3^RD January 2001

YOUTH SURVEY LAUNCHED

Northavon MP Steve Webb has launched a bid to strike up a dialogue with young people in his Northavon constituency, after research suggested that people under the age of 25 are much less likely than their older counterparts to vote in elections or to take part in any community activities.    The MP said that on the basis of the young people who he met, he was not convinced that this national research gave an accurate picture of young people in South Gloucestershire, but that he wanted to find out more about their concerns.   He has therefore written to over 4000 local young people under the age of 25 to get an idea about their political opinions and, in particular, about what puts them off politics.   This survey, the largest of its kind ever undertaken in the local area, asks those young people who are not planning to vote to set out the reasons why not, and it also highlights some of the issues of concern to young people on which the Lib Dem MP has been campaigning during his time at Westminster.

Steve Webb said:

“I regularly read in the national press that young people are disillusioned about politics and not involved in their local communities.   However, I meet plenty of young people who do not fit that description and so I have decided to see exactly what local young people are thinking.   If they believe that their concerns are not being listened to then that is an important message not only for me but for anyone in public life.  I hope that this survey will give me a clear picture of the things which motivate young people and will enable me to represent their concerns even more effectively in the future”.