Last night I was on the tube home reading a copy of the Evening Standard. I saw articles about the Olympics and how it was absolutely great that the United Kingdom is because of the way that our athletes beat many other athletes around the world. Further, I saw articles trying to link Olympic Success to Brexit as if those two concepts were somehow related.
I also recall a BBC article with a blast from the past saying that maybe John Major deserves credit for our Olympic Success as he created the Lottery.
This morning I woke up to a facebook poll telling me that Sadiq Khan is claiming credit for the Night Tube, saying it was him and not Boris that delivered a 24-hour tube service for London. He argued that because he was Mayor when it happened it makes it his victory, where as other people have argued that Boris and his team put in the leg work therefore it belongs to them.
These are just two examples of politicians trying to claim credit and I tell you now this is one of the reasons that less than 35% of young people even bother voting.
When did politics become about claiming credit as opposed to helping people? when did it become about one upping the other side as opposed to presenting your policies and explaining why they are beneficial?
Some would say it was the Blair era. Or, more precisely, the Post-Truth era that he heralded where by repeating a lie often enough it essentially becomes the truth in the eyes of the public. By applying that politicians can take credit for anything provided the media is on their side. The problem is that as young people are becoming more skeptical of the 'main stream media' they are also becoming more and more disengaged with what politicians are actually doing and fighting over credit, or trying to take credit where none exists, or even trying to connect two unrelated events is not a helpful way to restore their confidence in politicians.
It has been more then 5 elections now since the Conservative party won among first time voters. If we continue with that trend then pretty soon our core vote is going to shrink rapidly as on one end we have less voters coming in while on the other - and I do hate being blunt here - the elderly voters who have swung us elections are dying off.
And why are these young people so reticent to come to us when we have put more money into their future than any other Government? why don't they trust us with their vote when we have reduced unemployment to it's lowest levels in decades? why despite more young people agreeing with our positions on welfare do they not feel they can give us their support?
Because they see us in the press claiming credit or using rhetoric rather than being straight with them.
All young people want is for politicians to actually speak to them, not about them. They want people who will represent them fairly. That can be Conservatives but the emphasis we have placed on Post-Truth politics won't work with them.
It's time we got back to being the honest party.
Truth be told:
The Olympic Success is wonderful, but nothing to do with Government really. Yes we helped fund them but it was the hard work of our athletes and their trainers that brought in the medals.
Brexit has nothing to do with the Olympics and pretending it does is both disingenuous and wrong.
Boris did start off the Night Tube Project, but if he had finished it before leaving office I would be able to get the night tube home on Saturday's. I can't. but in a few months I will be able to. Thanks to Sadiq Khan.
There.
Three easy truths that people can respect.
Let's start telling it more often and see how much more respect we receive from the public, and specifically young people, as a result.
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