I'm pissed off. I have seen comments throughout Facebook of some simple-minded adults thinking that young people just voted for Labour because of the abolishment of tuition fees and it's absolute bollocks. It's like saying elderly people only vote for pensions. Just for starters, there are a bunch of young people who voted who won't even go to university or have already gone (the age group is 18-25, not 18-21) and also those who didn't vote Labour. And don't call us idiots: just think about how Mhairi Black is an MP in Scotland for the SNP and she's only 22.
I'm 19 years old and I'm on a gap year, ready to study politics at university. And guess what - I disagree with reducing tuition fees. Yep, I said it. I think that the student loans are very good and so abolishing fees just helps those who are better off. I believe that as university students, we should have to pay to gain an advantage over competitors (unlike some in the older generation who seem to forget they got it for free) and not just increase dependence on the state. Instead of abolishing tuition fees, maintenance loans should be improved so that we can afford to live whilst we study (my maintenance loan won't even cover my accommodation) and therefore more people have the opportunity to access university.
And here's the real humdinger. Whilst you complain that May didn't get a majority because of young people, you forget that you've been conned. Somehow you believe that austerity is the way to go when it has failed so miserably. Education has been cut (goodbye free school meals for those who need them), the NHS is predicted to have a £30bn shortfall in funding by 2020, nurses are going to food banks (the use of which has gone up 20x), homelessness is up 133%, welfare has been cut (even though most households in poverty live in working households), police numbers are down, fire stations are closing, domestic violence refuge centres have reduced funding, social care is down and disabled people are losing welfare.
And what for? A deficit still higher than before the 2008 global financial crisis (despite fracking, selling arms to Saudi Arabia and promising to balance the budget by 2015), the national debt up by £700bn and a government so "strong and stable" that they can't get a majority despite having such a strong lead at the start of campaigning, party members calling for the leader to resign (so it would be 3 leaders in 12 months) and they've sold their souls to jump into bed with the DUP who are anti-women's rights, anti-LGBT rights and have been linked to terrorists in Northern Ireland.
Corbyn did not represent perfection to me. There are some things that I distinctly disliked about him and his policies. But he offered genuine hope. No I don't believe his plans were fully-costed, but he would have borrowed less than the Tories did in 2010-2015 and in doing so would improve the living standards of the people who so desperately need help.
Don't tell me young people are stupid. I'm f***ing proud of us for really caring about our futures and turning out to do something about it. I hope turnout continues to be strong because the fundamental point of democracy is to be representative. You don't get representation by shutting up the future of this country. You get resentful, apathetic and less-educated young people - none of which is good for any of us.