My View on Politics

First of all, I have to say that it has only been recently that I have showed any interest in politics at all, choosing to ignore programmes such as Question Time in favour of American TV shows such as “The 100” or “Orphan Black”. I didn’t care which government was voted into power in the May 2015 general election, as I didn’t feel like it would affect me in any way. I was ignorant to all the changes going on around me, which I have now found out do affect me, and my prospects for the future.

Now, I know that the raise in tuition fees is going to put me in even more debt than if I were born a few years earlier, and if I was born one year later, passing my A Levels would have been even harder than it is now, because of the change to the examining system in the country.

So now, I try and pay attention when my parents insist on watching Question Time on the TV, because I realise the importance of knowing about what is going on. However, having said this, I will admit that it is so hard to stay awake. All the politicians ever seem to do is talk over one another like children, and bicker incessantly. Often the actual question posed isn’t even answered in the first place!

There seems to be a real lack, especially regarding this EU referendum, of hard facts produced. This is another thing that drives me crazy about politics, because there are always at least two sides spouting out contradictory rubbish, and they have nothing to back it up with. It’s ridiculous that in this day and age, both the Stay and Leave campaigns are arguing points that they can’t provide evidence for, and what’s even more ridiculous is the fact that people are believing these potentially made up “facts”. I understand that in some cases, there aren’t any facts, but they should be honest and say this, rather than making up figures for example.  

However, although this is the case, recently I have seen a more human side to politics. After the devastating murder of Labour MP Jo Cox, both sides decided to stop campaigning out of respect for her and her family. Reports from every side have been about Jo as a person, and the amazing contributions she brought to society, rather than making it political. I have respect for that, and believe that this could hopefully be a breakthrough in politics, by making people see that those in government are people, and should be treated as such. To finish, Jo’s sister said in her speech that “she will live on through all the good people in the world”, and I think we can already see this beginning.