Jeremy Corbyn has said that the reason that younger generations have turned towards the Labour Party this general election is because they ‘offer them hope’.
The Labour leader was speaking to NME for this week’s in-depth cover interview, when he said that their manifesto was catered more towards the needs of young people than the Conservatives.
“I think they’re engaged because our manifesto offers them hope,” Corbyn told NME. “It offers them hope that their schools will be properly funded, that their youth clubs will be properly funded, that they’ll get maintenance grants, they’ll get an opportunity to go to university without incurring massive debts at the end of it. But it’s also about investing in our culture industries and our society for the future. I want our children in schools to learn music as well as all the subjects they learn at the present time, I want them to have the opportunities for the future.
He continued: “That means we have to invest, that means we’ve got to share the wealth more fairly. That means we don’t cut corporation tax, we don’t give tax breaks to very rich. Instead we invest in the rest, and I’m really excited by the way in which young people have become engaged in this election and around two million have registered to vote who’ve never voted before and not been registered to vote before.
“The future belongs to the youth – let’s go with it.”
Asked about how the Conservatives had ‘failed’ younger people, Corbyn replied: “I think they’ve relied on the fact that in the last election, less than half of young people who were registered turned out to vote, and that they will therefore not register and not turn out to vote in this election.
“The whole story is actually very, very different: more than two million, mainly young people, have registered to vote since the election was announced. The registration period has now closed, and I hope that large numbers of young people are going to vote in this election. After all, it’s about their future.”
As well as responding to the divisive issue of whether he prefers Blur or Oasis, Corbyn also vowed to ‘deal with’ graduates who were already ‘burdened’ with debt from university tuition fees.
With the polls narrowing, June 8’s result is looking increasingly up in the air. NME’s ‘plus one’ campaign wants you to take a mate to the polls. We know you’re a great person and you’ve already registered. But next Thursday, make sure your mates are up to speed.
The general election takes place on Thursday June 8, 2017.