Oh, Very Young

Calum Bennie
By Calum Bennie Posted in Scottish Friendly news and views
June 9th, 2017

The information provided in this article was accurate at the time of publishing and should be read in the context of the date it was published. Views in this article are those of the author alone and do not necessarily represent the view of Scottish Friendly.

Songs about how the young have the power and the idealism for change abound. Oh, Very Young by Cat Stevens, The Times They Are A Changin’ by Bob Dylan, David Bowie’s Changes and the Who’s iconic My Generation are among a few memorable odes to youth that endure.

In my last blog, I was (metaphorically) shaking my head at the focus on the voting strength of the older generation at the expense of the young but the General Election result has shown that those who ignored young voters did so at their peril.

According to the NUS, a remarkable 72% of 18-24 year olds turned out to vote and, while post-election analyses are at an early stage, the young vote is likely to have played an important part in Labour’s unexpected gains.

The people have spoken and it’s now time for whoever governs, even if it’s just for an interim period as another general election sooner rather than later may be on the cards, to address the issues the economy is faced with. Real incomes are falling, growth has slowed and prices are going up.

The times they may be a changin’ but they’re also tough.   Since Brexit, the value of sterling has fallen and could be in the doldrums for some time to come. This may be good news for exporters but will do nothing to reduce the price of imports – or the cost of holidays abroad!

Meantime, pensioners await to hear their fate in respect of the state pension and the triple lock and whether the winter fuel allowance will be means tested.

As for the young, will it be more of the same or will the Government act to give them hope for a more prosperous future?







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