Election focus: Four years ago, only 42% of 18 to 24-year-olds voted in the Scottish parliament election. That low level � significantly below the 49% figure for overall turnout � has since been a cause of concern for politicians of all parties.
Four years ago, only 42% of 18 to 24-year-olds voted in the Scottish parliament election. That low level - significantly below the 49% figure for overall turnout - has since been a cause of concern for politicians of all parties. For them, first-time voters remain an important, if elusive, target group.
The general assumption that young people are concerned about the environment holds true among our random selection of six first-time voters, with Green being the most popular choice for the regional vote. Health and education are the domestic issues that top the list of concerns. The danger of assuming that young voters are a homogeneous group, though, is illustrated by a split over whether the voting age should be lowered to 16 - and, more significantly, by their constituency votes being spread among Labour, SNP, LibDem and Conservative.
Where they are sceptical is where they sense they are being bribed: one of the more obvious carrots to be dangled before them is means-tested grants instead of loans for students. But one student voter was quick to spot the flaw: namely that, by the time the policy could be implemented, they will no longer benefit personally.
Research into attitudes to politics among young people who could vote for the first time in the 2001 general election, commissioned by the Economic and Social Research Council, found they had little sense of connection with political parties and viewed them with distrust. Parties' efforts to attract young people to the ballot box were dismissed as "embarrassing". Six years on, in the most finely balanced political contest in recent years, is the prospect of change turning distrust into engagement for young Scots?
Our six all said they were feeling excited at being able to vote for the first time. Mhairi Threlfall, 18, a sixth-year school pupil from Musselburgh, is in favour of independence. "I won't vote Labour because of the Iraq war. It's a valid reason for voting SNP, because if we were independent, we would not be in Iraq or be renewing Trident," she says.
"I met Robin Harper and he told me the Green Party was for independence, which I hadn't realised. The environment is a big thing among young people and for me, so I will be voting Green in the regional vote and SNP in the constituency vote."
Threlfall has several leaflets from the SNP, one particularly for young people, but nothing from Labour. "I am going to Bristol University to study chemistry next year, so I will have a means-tested loan. The SNP's policy of replacing that with a means-tested grant has definitely influenced me. It is the best way forward."
Mhairi favours lowering the voting age to 16, and believes young people would be more interested in politics if they had citizenship classes in schools. "It really should be a compulsory subject. The election has been a big topic of discussion among my friends. I have a lot of friends who are 17 and politically aware, but they won't be able to take part in a Scottish parliamentary election for another four years."
Not everyone feels ready to vote at 18, though. Sara Quinn, 21, a third-year student nurse from Glasgow, was eligible to vote at the General Election in 2005, but didn't because "it would have been a stab in the dark".
This time, however, she feels she knows much more. "I've been watching TV, listening to the radio and reading the newspapers to find out more about the parties and their policies," she says. "I am voting SNP: I'm for independence and I think they're a student-friendly party. I'm concerned about the NHS, and at a local level they have supported the retention of accident and emergency services at the Western Infirmary in Glasgow, which I think is vital."
John Loughton, 19, is a student of politics and sociology at Stirling University but will return home to vote in West Pilton in Edinburgh. "I take account of the party as well as the candidate, and the Liberal Democrats are the key party for young people in Scotland," he says.
"Politics, historically, has been off-putting for young people, but a lot of people I speak to think the LibDems have set out a comprehensive agenda to encourage young people to participate in society.
"All the political parties are waving carrots, saying you won't pay this or you won't pay that, but the cash has to be raised from somewhere."
The LibDems, Loughton feels, have "real policies" such as 1000 more police officers on the streets. When we spoke to him before he voted, he told us he was definitely going to choose them in the constituency vote - but for the regional vote he was considering the Scottish Socialist Party.
"Young people are not apathetic. They care about their environment. It's the grey men in boring suits that are the problem. Politicians need to take a more pro-active role in engaging young people, and devolution itself has been a tremendous step forward because politics is much closer to the people now."
To help her decide who to plump for, Rachel Minto, 18, who is in the sixth year at Kelso High School, has been poring over the leaflets that have dropped on her doormat. "I've been reading all the leaflets and have been wavering between the LibDems and the Conservatives, but am swinging towards the Conservatives," says Minto, who will study midwifery at Stirling University next year. "Their candidate has been sending monthly newsletters so you know what's going on. I have had one leaflet from the SNP, but I don't think Scotland should be independent."
She feels "excited" about voting, particularly after learning about the struggles past generations went through to achieve the vote. "It's important to vote for the person you think will do the best job, and I think it is particularly important for women to vote. I did Higher history and learned about what the suffragettes went through, and that makes it really important to cast your vote. I know some people who aren't going to vote, but I tell them they can't complain about things."
Personality, of course, plays a big part in modern politics. For Scott Mackay, 18, from Paisley, a student of international business at Glasgow Caledonian University, it is the most important thing - at least in the constituency vote. "I'm voting for Hugh Henry, the Labour candidate, because he's done what he said he would. For the regional list, it's Liberal Democrat because the focus of their manifesto has been on young people and on the environment. The other parties have not been as focused on young people. Education is important and I'll be voting for Hugh Henry because of the programme of refurbishing schools. The school I went to moved into a new building just after I left, and it is much improved." He is not swayed by the SNP's policy of student grants instead of loans because "I don't see it happening before I'm finished as a student".
"A lot of my friends are voting Green, but most are voting Labour or LibDem because they are happy with what's happened over the last eight years," he says.
And he isn't forgetting about the council elections: "I hope we see a change in council control with the STV system," he says. "I want a council that will focus on Paisley town centre, which has really suffered from being so close to Glasgow. People now have a chance to change that."
Abi Ashton, 19, a biology student at Aberdeen University, went to cast her vote yesterday in a "group expedition" of first-time voters keen to savour the moment. The issues dearest to her heart are the environment and health; she will vote Green in the regional vote, but was unsure about the constituency. "Some people are influenced by issues like the Iraq war," she says, "but the Scottish elections and the Westminster elections are really about different issues. In Scotland, we are voting for future policy here."
She feels a sense of responsibility comes with her new right to vote. "A few people have said to me that they are not going to vote, but I've been harassing them, because I was brought up to know that people threw themselves under horses so I could vote. There are still people who cannot vote freely, for example in Zimbabwe. We've had a few heated debates about it."
Voting by numbers
42%
of 18 to 24-year-olds voted in the 2003 Scottish Parliament election, compared with overall turnout of 49%
37%
of 18 to 24-year-olds voted in the 2005 general election
48%
of 25 to 34-year-olds voted in the 2005 general election
39%
of 18 to 24-year-olds voted in the 2001 general election
46%
of 25 to 34-year-olds voted in the 2001 general election
11.6%
is the estimated percentage of 18 to 24-year-olds among Scottish adults as a whole Sources: Electoral Commission, Office of National Statistics, General Register Office for Scotland
How it works in other countries
- The voting age in the UK is 18, but a coalition of organisations calling itself Votes at 16 is campaigning to lower the age for all public elections. It includes Barnardo's, the Electoral Reform Society, the National Union of Students, the Liberal Democrats, the SNP and the Green Party. Candidates in UK elections must be at least 21.
- Voting age is a matter reserved to Westminster, but the Scottish parliament's local government committee announced its support for lowering the voting age to 16 in 2003.
- The vast majority of countries around the world, including all the EU member states, Australia, Canada and the US, have a minimum voting age of 18.
- In Japan, the voting age is 20, in line with the age at which an individual is considered to become an adult in Japanese culture. It is also 20 in Cameroon, Tunisia, South Korea and Taiwan.
- The minimum voting age is 17 in East Timor, Indonesia, North Korea, the Seychelles and the Sudan. In Brazil, Cuba and Nicaragua it is 16, and in Iran it is 15.
- In Italy, individuals cannot vote in elections to the senate - the second chamber of parliament - until they are 25.
- The minimum age of candidacy is more varied. In France, for example, candidates must be at least 18 to stand in local elections but 23 for the national legislature, while candidates for the presidency must be at least 35. In Ireland it is similar: 18 for local elections, 21 for the national parliament and 35 for presidential contests.
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