Student Soapbox: Bad Branding

A lot of you may be aware of the furore caused by Russell Brand’s guest-editorship of the New Statesman recently. In a sprawling, 3,000 word essay (and subsequent infamous Newsnight Paxman showdown), Brand expressed his disdain for modern politics, saying that he saw politicians as “frauds and liars” and rounded off by saying “I’ve never voted and I don’t think you should, either.” Robert Webb responded by pointing out how dangerous many of Brand’s views are, especially his calls for a “revolution of consciousness” and how “[Brand] comes dangerously close to saying violence can be beautiful, which always ends in death camps and gulags.” With all due respect, read some f***ing Orwell.

But there is one part of what Brand said which is most dangerous of all – his call for young people in particular not to vote. Young people don’t get what they want out of the political system because they already don’t vote in large enough numbers. What’s the point in exacerbating this even further by abstaining in order to man some inevitably doomed barricade?

But there is one part of what Brand said which is most dangerous of all – his call for young people in particular not to vote.

Think about it. Tuition fee rises, removal of EMA, freezing of loans, talk about removing all social security from under-25s – why has the government been able to do this? Because young people don’t vote. Contrast this with the kid gloves that the over-65s are handled with – their benefits intact, and many of them sitting in hugely inflated houses that their children and grandchildren couldn’t hope to buy. For example, when Labour recently suggested means-testing the winter fuel allowance, less a cornerstone of the welfare state than a crude bribe, there was uproar.

Politicians lie. So does everyone else. We just notice it more because they do so in public. Politics can be disappointing, corrupt and beholden to special interests – but it can  also change people’s lives for the better. The NHS, equal rights for women and LGBT people, minimum wage etc. – these are neither sexy nor cool, but they make a real difference to real people. Brand may be right on the aesthetic point – the revolutionaries have all the best threads and iconographies. But if you want to change the world, pick one that suits you best, stick by it – and get involved.

[divider]

Photo: flickr.com/duncan