Politics. It’s a risky topic of conversation on a first date, or when trying to make an unproblematic first impression, but for the surge of millennials and gallant generation Z’s that were immersed into the recent political battle, it seemed to become a very ‘cool’ subject of knowledge. For many, growing up was living in an oblivious state of mind, whilst the tall men in grey tailored suits dictated the state of the country. It was a clash of the elite, and a clan that the majority of the members of these younger generations weren’t a part of.
Aside from a flash of a bold headline from a newspaper on the kitchen table, or overhearing a brief political conversation between parents with the odd bit of jargon, a decent awareness of the opposing parties’ rights and wrongs were definitely for the few, and not the many.
Post-Brexit and an anticipated general election down, the once so-called ‘lack of engagement’ towards politics that these youngsters have been labelled seems to have shifted. Like anything, the surge of new technology plays a huge role in what people are interested in and who they are listening to. With the election run up in full swing, social media was a political haven for Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn and his team. It came as no surprise that these young adults felt a sense of inclusivity and motivation for the first time when scrolling through their feeds on Twitter, or watching live videos on Facebook. A clever move from Corbyn, but also a blatantly obvious one.
According to the BBC, sixty-one per cent of those who used the internet “a great deal” to gather news about the general election opted for Labour, compared with only 21% who voted Conservative. The accessibility of the world that we live in has massively transformed the way in which headline news can be absorbed. One search in an app, or one quick scroll through a feed and the world is literally at anyone’s (which is probably everyone’s) fingertips. With reports showing that those avid internet goers were far more likely to vote Labour and those who used the internet less often for political news and information were much more likely to vote Conservative, it was true to be a case of Corbyn vs May, or more significantly, Tweet vs paper.
Snap election done, results in, and May sits with her feet in front of the fire at number 10. She may have secured enough votes to win this snap election, but with the youth vote firmly leaning to the left and the chants for Corbyn still ringing strong, have Labour really suffered a loss? With Stormzy’s vocal approval and the Labour leader inspiring the #grime4Corbyn movement, politics has reached people who once might not have had any enthusiasm and are now an important part of the debate, whereas before they had been cast aside.
This past year has seen movements like no other, a shift in attitudes and a positive engagement to not only inspire these millennials to get up and vote, but to also be proud to shout about the fact that they have an interest. With politics, comes conversation. With conversation, comes trends. With trends, comes fashion. The V&A in London, famed for its documentation of historical art and fashion, recently acquired an unlikely and very current item: a plain white T-shirt, featuring the word “Corbyn” in a mock-up of the famous swooshed Nike logo.
A bubbling topic of conversation translated into a material object. The T-shirt, created by ‘Bristol Street Wear’, caught the interests of Corinna Gardner, the acting keeper of the museum, and was kindly donated by the company. The two-Bristol based friends told the New Spokesman, “it’s relevant for people who are interested in politics but don’t wear suits. You log onto social media and you see this huge, young demographic wearing it everywhere – but even here, you see Shannon down on the council estate wearing it, and then them big DJs and musicians too.” From pins being sold on Etsy, Captain SKA’s ‘Liar’ making it into the UK top 10, or even Theresa May flags at Glasto, politics really has become a ‘trend’ to behold. Let’s just hope that this trend doesn’t go the same way as a pair of cargo pants with flip flops!
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