Janey Little
Former Chair of Young LiberalsGlobal climate activism led by young people has been powerful in inspiring people to take action against climate change while shedding light on the challenges to come. Janey Little, Chair of the Young Liberals, highlights the importance of ensuring that young people remain at the forefront of the fight against climate change in her piece for Chamber UK.
Young people have long been the champions of environmentalism. This has been apparent here in the UK – but also across the world – with young activists joining together to demand change. Swedish activist Greta Thunberg quickly became a widely known name in 2018 as she played a critical role in bringing the public’s attention to the urgent need for action on climate change.
In the Young Liberals, the youth and student wing of the Liberal Democrats, we play a key role in holding the Liberal Democrats to account, pushing the party to take bolder action on the issues we care about, and in turn, we shape the wider political agenda. We, as young people, should not limit our ambition for what we can achieve, and we must continue to come together to demand more from politicians.
Holding the Liberal Democrats to Account
The Young Liberals are no stranger to making our voices heard within the Liberal Democrats, and to calling on the Party to do better. At the autumn conference in 2023, we took on the Party Leadership on the matter of housing targets – we wanted the party to retain its commitment to a national housing target of 380,000 homes a year, but the Party Leadership didn’t. We took our case to the conference floor, and we won, and that policy featured in the Liberal Democrat manifesto for the General Election this year.
Our Voices Matter
What our win on housing taught us is that our voices are powerful. When we speak from the heart about our hopes, our dreams, and our fears, people listen. We have to work hard to gain a platform for our voices, we need to work with our allies to build coalitions of support, and most of all, we must be brave and speak up for what we believe in.
Shaping the Policy Agenda of the Liberal Democrats
Beyond housing, Young Liberals sharing our stories and advocating for our beliefs has shaped the policy agenda of the Liberal Democrats in all sorts of ways. Our campaigns and our policy work have led to the Liberal Democrats adopting a more comprehensive policy on period poverty, taking a stand against fast fashion and advocating for more circular business practices, and enriching our policies on areas including accessibility in education, foreign policy, and more recently, the two-child benefit cap. Even the caring agenda – a flagship campaign for Party Leader Ed Davey – was first championed in the Party by the Young Liberals. That work on carers ultimately led to a shift in the wider political agenda in the UK.
Fighting for Urgent Climate Action
When we look to the next Parliament and consider whether or not the Labour Government will take climate action sufficient for the challenges ahead of us, young people must remember that we can make an impact. Young Liberals call on the Liberal Democrats to be bolder, which in turn, influences the work of Liberal Democrat parliamentarians and councillors, and that, in turn, shapes UK politics as a whole. On a global scale, young people coming together to share their beliefs and experiences has led to a huge shift in the awareness of climate change and the action we need to take globally. Every voice can make a difference.
Final Thought
When thinking about climate change, it can be easy to lose hope and resign ourselves to the idea that it’s too late – that politicians lack the political will and the ambition needed in the face of climate change. But young people can make a difference, as has been so evident in the global environmentalist movement. Now, politicians need to listen.
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