Was that the most depressing item ever on the Today prog?
BBC reporter goes to Wolverhampton South West and finds not one student interested in voting
Early morning listeners to Radio 4’s Today programme are still recovering from one of the most depressing interviews they have ever heard on the show. It concerned students and how their votes might dictate the results of the general election in some marginal seats.
Based on this report, aired shortly before 8 am today, their votes won’t swing anything at all.
The BBC visited Wolverhampton South West, a marginal Tory seat with a population of 20,000 students who hold the fate of Conservative MP Paul Uppal in their hands. Uppal stole the seat from Labour's Rob Marris in 2010 by the slenderest of margins and now Marris is fighting to retake it.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But BBC reporter Sima Kotecha was unable to find one student who was interested in voting in the election. Students she interviewed ranged from those who were barely aware of the election – “I don’t really follow politics” – to those who would not be voting because none of the parties appealed.
Yet Wolverhampton South West isn't just any old seat – it's the one held from 1950 to 1974 by one of the most infamous backbenchers in post-war politics, Enoch 'Rivers of Blood' Powell.
Only one student interviewed – Abdul Kadir - named any politicians, and then only to say: "David Cameron hasn't kept me in his interests, Nick Clegg has lied [about tuition fees], and then Labour hasn't come out to say anything about student tuition fees or anything regarding us so I'm probably going to abstain."
Whatever happened to youthful idealism? Yes, tuition fees are a huge issue, but does not one student at Wolverhampton University have concerns beyond their own finances - about Germany’s bullying of Greece, say, or about the possibility of war over Ukraine, about immigration and jobs, about austerity vs growth?
I'm inclined to start a sit-in - well, a lie-in, anyway - until the Today programme finds a student who cares about someone other then themselves.
PS: By the way, Abdul, Labour has "come out to say" something about student tuition fees: Ed Miliband has proposed cutting them from £9,000 to £6,000, though a lot of people are not convinced it will benefit students in the long-term - a political debate that might be of interest.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Nigel Horne is Comment Editor of The Week.co.uk. He was formerly Editor of the website until September 2013. He previously held executive roles at The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Times.
-
Today's political cartoons - November 2, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - anti-fascism, early voter turnout, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Geoff Capes obituary: shot-putter who became the World’s Strongest Man
In the Spotlight The 'mighty figure' was a two-time Commonwealth Champion and world-record holder
By The Week UK Published
-
Israel attacks Iran: a 'limited' retaliation
Talking Point Iran's humiliated leaders must decide how to respond to Netanyahu's measured strike
By The Week UK Published
-
What is the next Tory leader up against?
Today's Big Question Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick will have to unify warring factions and win back disillusioned voters – without alienating the centre ground
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is Lammy hoping to achieve in China?
Today's Big Question Foreign secretary heads to Beijing as Labour seeks cooperation on global challenges and courts opportunities for trade and investment
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Britain about to 'boil over'?
Today's Big Question A message shared across far-right groups listed more than 30 potential targets for violence in the UK today
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
UK's Starmer slams 'far-right thuggery' at riots
Speed Read The anti-immigrant violence was spurred by false rumors that the suspect in the Southport knife attack was an immigrant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The Tamils stranded on 'secretive' British island in Indian Ocean
Under the Radar Migrants 'unlawfully detained' since 2021 shipwreck on UK-controlled Diego Garcia, site of important US military base
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Britain's Labour Party wins in a landslide
Speed Read The Conservatives were unseated after 14 years of rule
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Will voter apathy and low turnout blight the election?
Today's Big Question Belief that result is 'foregone conclusion', or that politicians can't be trusted, could exacerbate long-term turnout decline
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published