1. tnreeves asked Rachael Dumigan: "Do you think that political parties and more importantly the government really take youth pressure groups and political groups such as The British Youth Council and Student Unions seriously? Can you ..." Show more »"Do you think that political parties and more importantly the government really take youth pressure groups and political groups such as The British Youth Council and Student Unions seriously? Can you give some examples of the government acting upon what these groups have campaigned for? Or is the government only willing to listen if this will win them popularity with the electorate?" Show less »
2. Rachael Dumigan answer: "I do think they listen, whether they act on what they have heard is completely different. One example where action has been taken is the free travel for under 16 year olds in London – that came about ..." Show more»" I do think they listen, whether they act on what they have heard is completely different. One example where action has been taken is the free travel for under 16 year olds in London – that came about from pressure from young people. I think politicians are starting to try to consult young people about the issues that effect them, I just think at the minute they don’t necessarily take to next step and act on what they have heard. "Show less«
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4. 0 comment   |  Topic: Politics   |   Email to friends   |   Dec 05 2007 6:11:53 AM

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1. MarkOne asked Rachael Dumigan: "Isn't age discrimination in the British workplace far lass of a problem for young people than it is for those above the age of fifty? If only for the simple fact that youth came overcome inexperience...." Show more »"Isn't age discrimination in the British workplace far lass of a problem for young people than it is for those above the age of fifty? If only for the simple fact that youth came overcome inexperience. " Show less »
2. Rachael Dumigan answer: "I don’t think it is any less of an issue. For example a few weeks ago, young people were banned by the police from buying egg and flower in Cambridgeshire whereas something like that would never happen..." Show more»" I don’t think it is any less of an issue. For example a few weeks ago, young people were banned by the police from buying egg and flower in Cambridgeshire whereas something like that would never happen to a different age group. Yes older people are discriminated against but when it happens they get listen to and action is taken. Young people are one of the few remaining sections of society that are demonised and no action is taken. "Show less«
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4. 0 comment   |  Topic: Politics   |   Email to friends   |   Dec 05 2007 6:10:43 AM

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1. MarkSkinsley asked Rachael Dumigan: "Is it desirable to lower the voting age to 16 given the widespread political apathy among the majority of young people in Britain today?"
2. Rachael Dumigan answer: "I think this is a good idea because it has worked in a number of European countries were they have lowered the voting age and seen an increase in turn out and this younger age group group actually votes..." Show more»" I think this is a good idea because it has worked in a number of European countries were they have lowered the voting age and seen an increase in turn out and this younger age group group actually votes in proportion to the rest of the population. A fear of allowing young people to vote is that they would have extreme views but in reality they don’t affect the balance, they just increase the balance between parties. Citizenship classes finish at the age of 16 yet you are not allowed to vote until you are 18 which doesn’t really make sense – in effect they are saying “we have taught you all about what is to be a British citizen. Now you have to wait at least 2 years until you can put it into effect.” Allowing 16 year old who are still in school to vote may well increase turnout as they will be encourage to vote by their peers, whereas if you do not allow someone to vote until they are 18, they may well be off doing their own thing and there is no one to encourage to vote. "Show less«
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4. 0 comment   |  Topic: Politics   |   Email to friends   |   Dec 05 2007 6:08:20 AM

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1. sevenof8 asked Rachael Dumigan: "What do you think about the governments proposal to raise the school leaving age to 18? Will it really give school leavers extra qualifications and a better chance in the workplace and if so do you think..." Show more »"What do you think about the governments proposal to raise the school leaving age to 18? Will it really give school leavers extra qualifications and a better chance in the workplace and if so do you think this will have a positive impact on older people's regard for school leavers at work?" Show less »
2. Rachael Dumigan answer: "No, I think there needs to be more consultation with young people about what they think and how it will affect them and how they will carry it out because for a lot of young people, staying at school ..." Show more»" No, I think there needs to be more consultation with young people about what they think and how it will affect them and how they will carry it out because for a lot of young people, staying at school until they are 18 doesn’t help, they don’t want to be in school and for the job they want to do there isn’t a need to stay in school. I’m not quite sure why they think this is a good idea because if you look at young people going on to university there isn’t jobs for graduates so I think they need to consult young people about it and listen to their opinions and ideas. An alternative would be to run more mentoring schemes in work places so young people can shadow somebody who has been doing the job all their life and learn from them – maybe this way there would be more respect across all age groups in society. "Show less«
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4. 0 comment   |  Topic: Politics   |   Email to friends   |   Dec 05 2007 6:03:49 AM

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1. pollyvickery asked Rachael Dumigan: "Young people are getting a bad rap in the news media at the moment – either they are “hoodies” ignoring their ASBOs or they are lazy, overweight and sit in front of computer games all day shirking physical..." Show more »"Young people are getting a bad rap in the news media at the moment – either they are “hoodies” ignoring their ASBOs or they are lazy, overweight and sit in front of computer games all day shirking physical activity. Do you think the news media ignores positive stories about young people in favour of sensationalised tales of antisocial behaviour and binge drinking or is the future of Britain really that bad? " Show less »
2. Rachael Dumigan answer: "Definitely. Through the BYC Respect campaign we carried out a survey of 1,000 young people of which 750 were from the UK aged between 12 and 26 and their view on how they saw themselves portrayed by the..." Show more»" Definitely. Through the BYC Respect campaign we carried out a survey of 1,000 young people of which 750 were from the UK aged between 12 and 26 and their view on how they saw themselves portrayed by the media was that they were always negatively stereotyped. The survey also looked at coverage of young people in the news media and it should that out of every 5 news stories, 4 are negative. "Show less«
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4. 0 comment   |  Topic: Media   |   Email to friends   |   Dec 05 2007 5:59:37 AM

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