Back in early 2017, Greater Manchester was preparing to hold the inaugural elections for its first directly elected mayor. At the time, we were part of an EU funded research project exploring youth participation in politics. We attended mayoral youth hustings organised by members of local youth councils. Candidates for the position – including Andy Burnham – answered questions put to them by the young people of Manchester.
We saw how young people used tactics similar to those used by the suffragettes in Manchester’s Free Trade Hall during the 1905 general election campaign. They repeatedly lobbied every mayoral candidate for the creation of a Youth Assembly.
The northern English city of Manchester has played a critical role in the development of Andy Burnham’s political and social outlook. This series considers what some have dubbed Manchesterism and what it might mean for the future of the UK.
Samuel Remi Akinwale, now the CEO of Young Manchester – a non-profit connecting youth services in the city – was then studying for his GCSEs. He challenged Burnham, explaining how many of his peers felt left behind and disconnected from politics.
Burnham gave a powerful reply with a message that still resonates through his speeches today. Westminster must change and things cannot go on as they are, he said. He emphasised that listening to young people must be at the forefront of reimagining democracy.
When Burnham was elected as Mayor, he committed to the creation of the Greater Manchester Youth Combined Authority (GMYCA). The establishment of the GMYCA was supported by an already existing local community and voluntary sector organisation, Youth Focus North West which has a strong track record of supporting youth voice, participation and advocacy work.
This unique approach to devolution aimed to put youth at the heart of city-region policy.
Developing policy
Many of the current youth initiatives in Manchester have emerged from an established dialogue between GMYCA and Burnham. These include the creation of Our Pass, the city-region’s free bus travel scheme for 16 to 18-year-olds, and the strong advocacy for a green agenda through the contribution of young people at Greater Manchester’s annual Green Summits.
They also include the ongoing development of the Greater Manchester Baccalaureate, an educational pathway focusing on technical education.
The young people who act as representatives from a variety of community and voluntary organisations to form GMYCA are from diverse identities and backgrounds. However, although GMYCA is now an established route that young people can use to influence youth initiatives and feel politically engaged, not all may feel seen and heard.
Manchester has become the fastest growing economy in the UK, yet the city has the third highest proportion of children living in poverty across the country.
Campaigners have highlighted the disparities that affect young people from ethnic minority backgrounds in the city in particular.
Our study showed that narrow understandings of what counts as political engagement, through formalised structures such as GMYCA, can limit levels of participation.
However, Manchester is also home to various community arts organisations such as The Agency. Projects like these enable young people to initiate creative projects to reinvent how their communities are represented and understood, which can build other paths for political engagement. For example, in its play Census, theatre company Malandra Jacks – made up of former members of The Agency – reinvents harmful portrayals of working-class communities to show the importance of youth and community spaces.
In such attempts, young people momentarily experience a kind of hope that their lives might be understood and represented differently. If “hope in every heart” – as promised by Burnham recently – is to become a reality, then we must demand new ways of thinking and responding to the challenge of racialised and class-based stereotypes.
This starts by engaging with young people’s everyday struggles, and creating opportunities for them to work with youth and community workers who can support their efforts to be at the forefront of reimagining democracy.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.