If the Tories want to win the youth vote they should forget about Love Island and get radical on housing | City A.M.
It would be an exaggeration to say that the country has gone Love Island mad, but there’s no doubt that a serious chunk of the population enjoy watching the poolside antics of the toned and honed cast members of ITV’s hit ‘constructed reality’ show, with several million tuning in for last night’s final.
Love Island hoovers up 16-34 year-olds in the live TV market, which is impressive considering that this cohort has long since turned to on-demand streaming services.
It’s no surprise, therefore, that even politicians are trying to join the pool party in a bid to connect with the sought-after millennial demographic. The Tories were, for a brief period yesterday, offering “Love Island water bottles” (of the kind sported by contestants) to new members. Alas, once the potential copyright infringement was pointed out they reverted to offering just plain water bottles to new recruits, which is unlikely to inspire a new generation of Tory members.
But away from the gimmicks, political parties are right to focus their efforts on winning the support of younger voters. Doing so is as much a moral imperative as a political one. Policies aimed at supporting young adults come thick and fast from either side of the political spectrum. From the left, a higher minimum wage is promised alongside rent controls and free university education.
The Tories, meanwhile, are reluctant to offer a truckload of giveaways (water bottles aside) and prefer to focus their efforts on the more nebulous (but more effective) ambition of broad economic growth – arguing, rightly, that a rising tide lifts all boats.
Alas, in the one area where the government really does have a lever to pull – housing – ministers continue to prefer tinkering and meddling to sweeping structural reform.
Almost every housing-related policy devised by Tory ministers has done more to boost demand than supply. Help to Buy, the overly complex Lifetime ISA and various other initiatives simply tangle further an already tangled mess of policies that, even taken together, fail to chip away at the primary obstacle that sits between young people and the dream of their own home: wholesale planning reform.
By all means, jump on the Love Island train and appeal to the youth, but don’t think for a second that it distracts from a failure to take bold, lasting decisions while you actually had the chance.