When asked what they think of when they hear the word “politics”, young people in Derry have no shortage of suggestions.
“Boring. Lazy. Arguments. Violence. Conflict. Trapped. Men. Power. A cis middle-aged white man in a suit. Change.”
"I grew up without any real thought about nationalism or unionism," says 19-year-old Eoghan Cummins; instead, what interests him are "policies of progressivism and what's actually going to benefit people, whether that's economically or in terms of human rights".
He is one of about 40 young people gathered at The Junction – a cross-community space in the city centre – on a Wednesday night recently. They are here for "Pizza and Politics", a hustings event organised by Youth Action Northern Ireland ahead of the North's Assembly election on May 5th.
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"We're here to eat lots of pizza and find out what's important to you, and at the end, you'll have the opportunity to vote for who you want to represent you, because you matter," says youth worker Emma Johnston.
Five of the candidates standing in the Foyle constituency will arrive in about an hour, and the young people will have a chance to put their questions to them and then vote for the winner; first though, they must decide what to ask.
As they split into groups and begin to discuss what politics and voting means to them, themes emerge. These include the lack of information and education about politics and elections; voting is scary, says one young woman, “because we don’t know anything about it, yet we are told it’s important”.
Disconnect
They articulate a disconnect between politics as portrayed at Stormont and through the media, and their own experiences, and criticise the political landscape as male-dominated.
“We’re sick to the back teeth of this whole orange versus green, flags this, parades that. We’re in a cost-of-living crisis, that’s what the big priority should be,” says 26-year-old Adam Quigley-Nixon.
“Gas prices are constantly going up. Whether they’re from orange or green, people are suffering. ”
The group agrees. When asked to list the things in their lives that they are most passionate about, mental health is a clear first, followed by housing, poverty and education; there is no mention of Brexit, the Northern Ireland protocol, or a border poll.
There are cheers for those who suggest the voting age should be lowered to 16, and that politicians should be given a year to follow through on their election commitments or be replaced.
"For younger people, it's less about what side [the politicians] are on and more about what they stand for," says 25-year-old youth worker Fiona Wilson.
In 2017 Foyle elected two SDLP, two Sinn Féin and one DUP representative to the Assembly; this time the SDLP, buoyed by a landslide victory in the constituency in the Westminster election in 2019, is running three candidates in the hope of taking a third seat.
The outgoing DUP MLA Gary Middleton, a former junior minister, is facing a strong challenge from the UUP candidate, local councillor Ryan McCready.
Both Middleton and McCready are on tonight's panel, as are fellow candidates Brian Tierney – an SDLP councillor and former mayor of Derry – and Alliance councillor Rachael Ferguson.
Another councillor, Maeve O'Neill from People Before Profit (PBP), is standing in for her party colleague Shaun Harkin, who is at a hustings event elsewhere. Sinn Féin is the only main party not to send a representative; the invitation was accepted and then cancelled, Johnston says.
Sinn Féin is standing two candidates in the Foyle constituency: Pádraig Delargy and Ciara Ferguson.
Green and orange
Each makes their pitch. Ferguson says they should vote for her because she is the only one “not in thrall to green and orange”; O’Neill says PBP are neither orange nor green but socialist and – pointing to the candidates to her left and right – “a thorn in the side of the political establishment on either side of me here”.
Middleton explains why young people should be involved in politics, that he was first elected to council when he was 20 and “people said, ‘what do you know’?”. McCready promises he will “challenge the status quo”; Tierney says that “the most important thing that we are hearing on the doors” is that people are unable to “heat their homes and feed their families”.
Then come the questions – about mental health provision, conversion therapy, LGBTQ+ rights, the Irish language, accountability and “why is there so many men in politics and not women?”
Sixteen-year-old Amber Sweeney asks the candidates how they keep young people informed; there is laughter from the room when McCready reveals he is on TikTok.
There is a question on reproductive rights and period poverty; Tierney describes how "two of my children live with a disability. I was in an appointment in England when my wife was pregnant and was offered an abortion. It wasn't right for us. We didn't do it. But who am I to say that's not right for anyone else?"
Joel Doherty (16) asks Middleton if, given that the polls indicate that Sinn Féin is likely to be returned as the largest party, will the DUP work with them post-election?
Middleton answers that “shadow” of the Northern Ireland protocol “can be addressed”; he is applauded when he says: “I’ve always worked with everybody and I will promise to work with anyone again, but it needs to be on the basis of respect.”
Voters
Research by the University of Liverpool shows that the percentage vote share for the parties which designate as "other" – Alliance, the Green Party and PBP – rather than unionist or nationalist is broadly similar across the age ranges, with 20.9 per cent of those who intend to vote in the 18-34 age category choosing others, compared to 22.5 per cent in the 35-59 age range and 19.3 per cent of the over 60s.
Prof Peter Shirlow notes that while "young people are not any more likely to vote beyond orange and green than other age groups", those parties are stronger in certain areas and "will have a higher share in Foyle, south Belfast, west Belfast etc, so more young people in those places are more supportive of those parties than across Northern Ireland".
They are also more likely to transfer to these parties, particularly if they have not voted DUP or Sinn Féin as a first preference.
“All that Protestant and Catholic, orange and green stuff, they just do not care about it at all,” says community and youth worker Róisín McLaughlin. “It’s totally different from when we were that age, but in some ways we’re totally stuck because we’re still voting along those lines.”
In Derry the young people’s votes have been cast and counted, using a first-past-the-post system for simplicity, rather than the proportional representation to be used in the actual election. There is a tie: the winners are Ferguson and Tierney.
Minds changed
Afterwards, Doherty is one of many who explain that his mind had been changed by what he heard. “On the trans rights, conversion therapy and all that, she was the only one who knew really what she was talking about because she has friends and they told her about it.”
Quigley-Nixon agrees; though he “always” votes for People Before Profit, he is “considering giving my second preference to Rachel [Ferguson]. I think she was just such a good speaker. I’m a big advocate for LBGTQ rights, that’s what I do, and everything she was saying, I agreed with.”
For Wilson, it has been a turning point. “I voted for Brian [Tierney] because a lot of what he was saying I believed as well, he was saying he was pro-life, I’m pro-life as well but I would respect everybody’s decision...he’s not leaving his beliefs out but he’s working for what’s best for the area and the community.
“I’m registered but I’ve never voted before. I’m going to vote now.”
This is why evenings like this matter, says Johnston. “Our event is a prime example of the importance of education. We took the first hour, one hour of our time, to educate that passion, to ignite that fire in their belly, to make them feel ownership, to make them feel powerful. That’s what they needed – and it doesn’t take a lot.”
To end, there are more words. How do they feel? “Smarter. Enthusiastic. Informed.” One teenage girl waves her arm aloft, and when she has the room’s attention, shouts out her response: “Hopeful.”
Also running in the Foyle constituency are: Emmet Doyle (Aontú); Mark H Durkan (SDLP); Gillian Hamilton (Green Party); Anne McCloskey (Independent); Colly McLaughlin (Irish Republican Socialist Party); Sinead McLaughlin (SDLP) and Elizabeth Neely (Traditional Unionist Voice).
