Introduction from Lynne Featherstone MP

When Nick Clegg gave me the Youth portfolio – we agreed that I would be relentlessly pro youth not anti youth!

As a young person in the UK today, you often get a raw deal. When you work hard at school, you’re told you only did well because the tests are getting easier. Although you are more likely to be a victim of crime than an older person, you’re often treated like you’re the criminal yourself. And when there’s not much left for you to do after school because increasing red tape and reduced council funding has forced so many youth clubs to close – then you’re blamed for hanging around the streets with nothing to do.

The pressure comes at you from so many angles: from the media who happily report on the kids who do cause trouble but seemingly never give column inches to all the volunteering and good things that you do; from the fashion, beauty and diet industry – who bombard you with fake images to the point that you feel unhappy with the way you look; and from an endless stream of advertising that tempts you to want things you can’t afford, falsely promising that it will make you happier.

There are huge challenges ahead, particularly as we climb out of a recession that threatens to hit your hopes and aspirations. If we don’t want a lost generation – then we have to make sure we deliver on a worthwhile future for you.

We Liberal Democrats are committed to creating a country where you can be free to be yourselves – the very best you you can be – and enjoy equal life chances with everyone else. We want our policies to be effective not vindictive.

We set out in this paper what Liberal Democrats would do differently to provide a fresh start for young people in the UK today.

You can download the complete youth policy paper at http://tinyurl.com/yb46cw9