There was a time when the Labour Party was a bit of a magnet for younger people seeking an alternative to the parties in power but over the past 25 years, that picture has changed.
It is only in the past two or three years we see that younger under-35 cohort drifting back to Labour and certainly, in the past year, the party has made a big play for this particular demographic. So what does the party offer younger voters? “I think our priority obviously has to be housing,” said Annie Hoey, the party’s newly appointed Dublin spokeswoman.
“We see people up to the age of 35 and above who are still living at home, far above the OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] and European average. Obviously, Labour need to talk about housing as it’s on the tip of everyone’s lips.”
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The message from Labour, she said, is it will work to get housing right.
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Among its specific policy proposals are provisions to protect renters, to end speculative land hoarding, to double State delivery of cost-rental and affordable housing, to increase income limits for social housing eligibility to €40,000 per person. It also proves to move towards doubling State investment in direct social build.
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Another area that Labour will work on for younger people, according to Ms Hoey, is equal pay for an equal day’s work.
“There are different pay brackets based on your age, and we don’t think that’s fair or equitable. We believe if you’re doing the same work as someone else, then you should be paid the same wage. Obviously, we’re also advocates for the living wage. We would love to see the Government actually move to a living wage full-stop and not tinker around the edges with a minimum wage.”
Climate action has become another central policy platform under Ivana Bacik’s leadership, with Rebecca Moynihan recently appointed as spokeswoman.
The party has advocated for a modal shift through a €9 per month “climate ticket” on public transport, modelled on a German scheme. It has also said it would set aside significant funding for just transition. Education is another traditional policy area with the party and it has been prominent in campaigns calling for reductions and abolition of fees, and for accommodation shortages experienced by students to be addressed.
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Ms Hoey highlights the party’s equality agenda and its current campaign for an early referendum to repeal article 41 of the Constitution.
She said she would like Labour to lead the way in making political representation in the State reflect the new Ireland in terms of race, gender, LGBT+ and diverse backgrounds.
However, she said the negative impact of social media had made it harder to attract younger candidates, women candidates, and those from other backgrounds.
“Online can be a really difficult place,” she said.
What are the parties doing for the under-35s?
