Lotte Sunderland: For young generation, politics is a joke

Just a few weeks ago, I had a strange conversation with my granddad.

When staying at his house, I unwisely made a comment along the lines of: "Great, the Conservatives are definitely going to win the next election…" in a sarcastic tone.

"I think it's brilliant," he replied. "They can clean up the mess Labour has made, as usual. I loved Margaret Thatcher, she was a bit mad towards the end though…"

Having been brought up in a very liberal household, this appalled me. Since the recent economic crisis it seems as though the majority vote has turned in favour of David Cameron and his young façade.

But really it doesn't matter what he does now, he is, effectively, untouchable.

It seems as though Labour will really have to pull something out of the hat to win the next general election.

Then I realised, I am unable to vote and, as young person being brought up in a well-developed country, how would this really affect me? At least in the short term.

For the younger generation, politics has become a joke, something to poke fun at or to debate over with your friends, a topic used for entertainment on panel shows, not something that effects the way that our lives are carried out.

For us, our lives are really only just beginning, and while we are still finding our feet, how many things can they change over the next few years that will really affect our fundamental way of life?

Most of the people I know don't hold strong opinions about our government.

However, those who do, don't feel that as young people our views are deemed as important by anyone because we are too young to really know what we are talking about, and we'll be more involved when we're older.

But how can we not be concerned by the fact that although this may not affect us now, the decisions that you, as adults make, will shape the future of this country and the world that we will soon be a part of?

There are issues that do have certain ramifications for young people in Bristol.

Unlike other major cities, we don't have access to a metro, tram or underground for affordable public transport, and the transport we do have access to is becoming more and more costly, despite the fact that teenagers must make up a big percentage of bus customers.

We take the bus to and from school, to visit our friends and use it to avoid walking up big hills. We also use it to travel around Bristol when our parents refuse to give us lifts, usually after being accused of treating them like a taxi service.

Yet despite this, our public transport is frequently inconsistent, tardy and often inconvenient to use.

Today, all we as young people can do is hope that the people in charge know what they are doing, because we can't change anything…. yet.

● Lotte Sunderland is a student at Cotham School in Bristol.