So what has changed, what matters most about #YouthMatters, the government’s new national youth strategy?
X is for the X-Factor
To vote is to put the X on the ballot paper. It’s a democratic right, hard fought for and gained across centuries. The next UK general election will see the voting age lowered to 16. What can we expect?
W is for What Works
It’s as plain as the nose on your face. We want the government and policies to do what works best. How we invest finite tax revenues to make our lives better. How do we know what works, and who’s to judge what’s best? There are competing interests and conflicting claims. What’s best for one group may not be good for another.
V is for Volunteering
As Government policies shift towards increased devolution and place-based approaches, delivering across communities and in neighbourhoods, the role of volunteers has risen up the political agenda.
U is for Union
To unite around a common purpose or cause, whether that’s employment rights or a binding joint goal, is to form a union. The collective bargaining and strength of a united front – “you don’t get me, I’m part of the union”.
T is for Truth
The truth matters. Not only ‘speaking truth to power’, but turning that on its head to speak truth to the masses. The perversion of political debate and populist appeal is, put simply, dangerous and divisive.
S is for Skills
Basic skills. Functional skills. Essential skills. Soft skills. Skills for life and work. Future skills. Practical. Technical. Digital. Creative. Confused?
100 different parties
As we look ahead to party conference season, I score a rare century of annual conferences at the main three Westminster parties, and always the party of Government and Official Opposition.
R is for Regions
What happens when you devolve powers to the English regions? More Mayors with increased responsibilities but less funding pushes problems away from Westminster and Whitehall. Yet a Government cannot afford to ‘let go’. It survives if people are better off, or at least feel better off, and are more confident about their futures. That is the sum of all parts of the country.
Q is for Quiz
Holiday season is in full flow. It’s the time of year we can ‘take a break’ and turn to the summer quiz pages published in our favourite magazines, newspapers and online sites – and nostalgia for the summer specials in our childhood comics.
Citadel 