21.01.2010
Nick Clegg, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, reiterated his support for lowering the voting age to 16 in an online public meeting with the UK Youth Parliament yesterday. Responding to several questions about the voting age, Nick said: “If you can ask someone to die for this country, they should have the right to vote for the government of the country. So I can guarantee that we will continue to campaign for votes at 16.”
The Lib Dem leader also expressed his disappointment with Barack Obama at the recent Climate Change conference in Copenhagen. Nick said: “I think it was particularly worrying that the US President, Barack Obama ... basically cut a deal with the Chinese government and cut out and ignored Europe, which was pressing for a much more ambitious agreement.”
The Liberal Democrat position on scrapping university tuition fees was another hot topic. Having previously been an eager supporter of scrapping tuition fees, Clegg now argues that the dire state of the economy will make this policy difficult: “We will scrap them but it will take a little bit longer. It will take six years rather than doing it overnight as we once thought we could. We will do this immediately by scrapping tuition fees for all students in their final year of study. And then we will work down to the other years, and extend it to part time students, and so over a six year period this injustice of tuition fees will be scrapped.”
This was the first of many UK Youth Parliament web chats with politicians and decision makers over the coming months.
To read the web chat in full, go to:
http://www.ukypforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=4869
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Nick Clegg also responded to several questions on Twitter. Here is a round-up of the Q&A:
UKYP: With your pledge for a fairer electoral system, will you include votes at 16 within that?
Nick Clegg: Yes I am a big supporter of votes at 16. The state can ask a 16 year old to fight and die for this country, why not vote too?
UKYP: What is your party’s opinion on political education for under 16s and how will they work to try and achieve this?
Nick Clegg: Main priority in my view is to improve how citizenship curriculum is taught. Some schools do it v well, others not. Need consistency.
UKYP: What's your views (and party policy) on the use of the Mosquito device to disperse young people?
Nick Clegg: Am strongly against. It smacks of Orwell, targeted at young people only. Why do they think all young people are bad? Appalling.
UKYP: Now that you have announced that we cannot afford to stop student fees, how will the Lib Dems support students?
Nick Clegg: We WILL scrap tuition fees, but money's v tight so it'll take a little longer. We'll scrap final year fees in year one, then scrap rest.
UKYP: What do the Lib Dems plan to do to solve the problem of voter apathy among Young People?
Nick Clegg: Votes at 16. Sweep away rotten system of unfair votes and big money in Westminster. Treat people like grown ups on the big changes we need.
UKYP: how will you help areas like the South West whose young people have little they can do/ afford in spare time?
Nick Clegg: Provide affordable/accessible public transport so young people can get around. And support youth centres and youth workers.
UKYP: How will the Lib Dems help the teenagers and those leaving university get jobs, especially those in rural areas?
Nick Clegg: 90 day guarantee:if u don't have job after 3 months, we'll guarantee training, internship or further study. Boost places at Colleges too.
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