‘Parties are just insulting one another on TikTok’

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'Parties are just insulting one another on TikTok'

Friends Joe Knight (left) and Fionn Stone, both 18, are voting in their first general election

First-time voters have told BBC News how the general election is cutting through to them on social media.

Friends Fionn Stone and Joe Knight, both 18, from Derby, chatted about politics over a pint at one of the city’s pubs.

The BBC is hearing about what matters to the electorate, as part of Your Voice, Your Vote.

Mr Knight says he has not been impressed with the content of the parties’ social media campaigns.

Fionn Stone was keen to encourage people to register to vote in the mayoral election back in May

“If I’m scrolling through TikTok, the two main parties are hardly talking about issues a lot of the time,” he said. “A lot of it is just insulting one another.

“A lot of people I’m talking to my age are concerned around some policies being talked about, in terms of immigration being spoken about.

“The cost of living is a massive issue – inflation and people can’t live cheaply.

“With everything being so expensive and realistically someone my age isn’t going to get employment in a job that paid well enough.

“Politicians need to look at the cost of living and look after young people so they can get on and live.

TikTok and other social media sites are full of political content

Mr Stone voted for the first time ever in the East Midlands mayoral election in May.

He decided he wanted to encourage young people to vote as it is something he’s passionate about.

“I was hearing stories from people around me my age and a bit older that they didn’t see the point in voting,” he said.

“People have died and fought for the right to vote and it’s one of the only ways we can have a say to change the country if we want to.”

He’s also interested in the idea of lowering the voting age to 16.

“The representation of younger people needs to be there and giving the vote [to 16 and 17-year-olds] would definitely allow that,” he said.

“There’s always been a lower turnout in younger people, which I find odd because it’s [the policies] that we inherit [for longer] – so it could work well.

“However there might be a lack of interest or a lack of information about what they are voting for.”

Asked what he would tell the next prime minister come July 5, Mr Stone said: “Think about the people, forget the money and leave it better than you found it.”

Joe Knight said a lot of posts on social were not talking about actual policy

Mr Knight, who is also a student, said: “I don’t think I’ve heard anyone talk about human wellbeing, I don’t know if I heard say that they care about the people of the United Kingdom.

“One of the biggest cares in our country, for me, is the NHS and it’s something as a country we are proudest of – but people aren’t looking after it.”

Social media is a big part of this campaign. All of the parties know it offers a relatively inexpensive but time-effective way to get their message out to voters – especially to young people scrolling through their timelines.

Mr Knight said memes and snappy video clips were common. He said Sir Keir Starmer’s father being a toolmaker and Rishi Sunak’s admission he missed out on Sky TV as a child – was featuring heavily on his social media feeds.

But the biggest policy issue cutting through on his platforms has been the Conservative’s National Service policy, he said.

Mr Stone added: “There’s a lot of misinformation as well, people need to be careful.”

Fionn Stone (left) and Joe Knight are voting in their first general election