Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

A ‘growing disconnect’: What do young voters think needs to be done in local communities?

Ahead of polling day, we spoke with one young voter to find out what local matters are important to their generation.
Ahead of polling day, we spoke with one young voter to find out what local matters are important to their generation.

With the local elections looming, candidates are looking to secure every vote they can.

Everything from the rising cost of living to the state of the high street has been debated, but what do younger voters feel needs to be tackled and do they think their voices are being heard?

Ahead of polling day, we spoke with one young voter to find out what local matters are important to their generation.

“Younger generations play a part in society”

Blairgowrie teen Maks Inkster is one of those who will be eligible to vote in Thursday’s local elections.

The 17-year-old, who is also a member of the Scottish Youth Parliament, believes there’s risk of a “growing disconnect” between local authorities and the young people who live in their area and encouraged councils to listen to younger voters.

“There needs to be a way where councils can gauge the views of all young people in order to make it better for everyone in an equal manner”, Maks said.

Maks Inkster.
Maks Inkster.

“We are definitely under represented and councils focus more on the older generations but what I think is important is that the younger generation do play a part in society and have a say.

“There is no harm in asking what people think because there could be a growing disconnect between the council and the young people.”

Education is a priority

Among the issues Maks feels are important to young voters, education stands out as the most pertinent, and the uncertainly brought on by the pandemic has left many feeling anxious about their future.

The Blairgowrie High School pupil said: “The council should be doing more to see what young people think is happening in schools and acting in a way that helps pupils.

“I’ve seen a lot of people really worried about exams and there needs to be more services for people to cope with that.”

“There’s nothing for them to do”

Maks also believes there should be more things for young people do to in their local community, or at the very least better communication regarding what’s on offer, and would like see councils engage with young voters going forward.

He added: “I see people coming into Subway (my workplace) all the time, not because they are hungry but because they are bored. There’s nothing for them to do and that does lead to anti-social behaviour.

“I think it’s a lot to do with there not being a lot available for young people or at the very least services services not being know to them.

“Young people might see the council just for older people, and the council might see young people as anti-social when really issues intertwine and we should figure out how to solve them together.”

Conversation