‘There is an arrogance in young people’s ignorance’, mused Sean Mahoney of the Roundhouse Poetry Collective, reflecting on how he thinks young people approach politics. ‘They write politicians off as “suits” in just the same way that politicians write them off as “hoods”’. In effect, the ‘lost generation’ is apathetic and uninspired in the face of the most important General Election since 1997. In pre-electoral discussion, they are the silent subaltern feeling marginalised, under-represented and unable to operate in what they feel to be an ‘outdated’ political system. The Roundhouse sought to give voice to 18-25s in their ‘Do You Feel Counted?’ weekend of events.

The strategy, it appears, is to politicise young people by giving them the ‘opportunities’ and ‘skills’ to help them speak. A workshop led by Professor Stephen Coleman of the University of Leeds was focused on moving participants’ understanding of politics beyond shallow opinions of it as an external process, towards politics as a form of internal expression about the world they want to live in – to help young people ‘find their voice’. Meanwhile, in a section called ‘Words Count’ a talented mix of rappers and poets expressed their disillusionment with current politics and attempted to validate their personal lifestyles and identities.

This personalised ‘politics’, however, is not worthy of the name. The repetitive celebration of individuated youthful expression resulted in an apolitical event whereby ‘young people’ spoke, but had very little interesting to say. As two participants, Billy Shields and Kieran Jordan noted, ‘90% of the weekend seems to have nothing to do with politics’. Like standing on the shore and shouting into the sea, young people - much to their own surprise - expressed their opinions, although directed at no-one in particular and met with no reply, no discussion, no challenge and no debate. In Professor Coleman’s observation, ‘“Counted?” is not participatory in terms of the public sphere of politics’. And I am inclined to agree with him. In effect, this is Politics 101 without engagement – a pretty pointless exercise.

Whilst the oldies moan that us young’uns don’t do politics anymore, I find myself moaning that the only thing on offer for those who at least want to try is patronising congratulations for ‘having a go’. If events like ‘Counted?’ continue to pass for youthful politics, that subaltern voice will stay subaltern, turned off and uninspired; As was displayed in their performances, their contributions will remain atomised and self-involved.

Whilst ‘Counted?’ hopes to be giving young people the opportunities and skills to contribute to our political system, if their contributions are not met with fierce challenge from the outset, how can they possibly be equipped to grow up robust in the face of problems that face them in the future?

There is a lot to be done to put some life back into politics. This is the task those coming to the political system have to deal with: the only way to do it is to learn by doing, not by practising doing or feeling able to do, but by actually doing. It is high time that we start considering political education as more than just public speaking classes. After all, there is only the fate of humanity at stake. 

More information about the weekend’s events is available on the website.  The documentary film Counted, which accompanies the project is playing in London’s County Hall Debating Chamber until 22 May 2010.