They are perhaps the most pro-remain demographic in the country, a group that many feel could hold the key to the EU referendum.
But although opinion polls suggest young people are generally in favour of EU membership, many maintain strong reservations about the 28-nation bloc and what it is has done for them.
University campuses may throw up a rosier vision of Britain’s European future, but elsewhere in the UK a more sceptical view is apparent.
Although Jenny, 20, is more than likely to vote leave on 23 June, she is open to being persuaded otherwise – although the leaflets she gets through the door won’t work, she says.
“When you’re younger you’re not taught about the European Union. We get leaflets through the door on the pros and cons. It’s stupid. They don’t appeal to me at all.”
Although Jenny is on a zero-hours contract, which means her wages can fluctuate week-by-week, she feels lucky to have found work after two years of unemployment and a disheartening job centre experience.
“The government doesn’t look out for me. They’re all about themselves. Immigration really does my head in. It’s the government’s fault more than anyone. The EU says we have to take them in. But the money could go towards homeless people and building businesses that benefit us all,” she says.
Hull was at one time the UK’s third largest port, but it is now Britain’s poorest city in terms of average weekly wage. It has a significant skills shortage; low rates of business startups; among the highest youth unemployment in the UK; the lowest proportion of residents with NVQ4 qualifications, or above; and its young people often have travel to Leeds and Sheffield to find work.
Terence Smith is the mayor of Goole, which lies just outside of Hull At 19, he is the UK’s youngest mayor and is acutely aware of the need to engage young people in politics and that although information on the EU vote is available, people do not know where to look for it.
“The referendum is about young people’s futures. But both sides of the campaigns have lacked young speakers. The BBC youth debate, for example, had no young people on the panel.
“It’s ironic that I’m 19 and the next councillors will be 40 years old, and all these investments and ideas have been introduced for young people but there are no young people. Young people have revolutionary idea. We need to engage them more,” he says.
Smith adds that 363,000 jobs in the region are linked to EU trade and that unemployment is down to a lack of a northern powerhouse and underfunding, rather than immigration as many believe.
Sam Shade lives on a council estate with a larger proportion of non-UK residents than any other in Hull. He is unemployed and on long-term sickness benefits, and is certain that he will vote leave. The 26-year-old says he does not feel the benefits of the EU; all he can see is unemployment and a lack of investment in the region.
“Even before I was sick I couldn’t actually find employment,” Shade says. “It was difficult. Our fishing trade in Hull was decimated, and it caused an economic downtown and everyone suffered. Ninety per cent of families in the city were affected by it. Fishing was what we did: we fished. Now we have minimal fishing. It still affects people today.
“My vote is for independence away from other people. You can’t rid your country of internal problems when you have external influences. I believe this country can be fixed without removing people from the country. But we are dominated by our own government and then we have the European Union giving us processes and telling us what to do, and bureaucratic tape to put over people. It’s stupid.”
Young, university students are a top priority for the remain campaign. Out of two million UK students, 52% are firmly for remaining in the EU, with 26% saying that they probably are, and only 7% wanting to leave. But Ryan, a 19 year-old mechanical engineering student from Rochdale, who has worked in market stalls and fast food restaurants since 14 is voting leave.
“I very much understand why university students would vote to remain in the EU: it seems to be the idea of working together as states making us stronger than if we were apart,” he says. “I do agree with this in principal. But I will look to buy a house and get a job once I’ve graduated. It seems that the average person in their mid-20s could find themselves at the back of the queue as a first-time buyer.”
Although he sees the benefits of controlled migration he is concerned about its impact, particularly on his age group. He believes the referendum is more important for young people than the general election.
“I’ve experienced exactly what it is like to live in a town where public services have been stretched to the maximum due to population increase. As far as I can see, some of these services are at breaking point, with the Royal Oldham hospital recently urging people over the Easter break to stay away unless they were facing life threatening illnesses. I know this doesn’t just happen in Rochdale, which is why I believe it is more important to leave the European Union now” says Ryan.
Fay Marsden volunteers with the Warren, a youth charity in Hull’s city centre. She agrees with Smith and believes more needs to be done to connect young people with political information. Marsden, like a number of others at the youth centre, feels strongly that Britain should remain in the EU, but says she understands why young people may fail to see its relevance.
“We need to bridge the gap between politics and the real issues affecting people to solve real problems are affecting real people. There are lots of youth parliaments but these are being abused by well-educated people who can’t see other people’s perspectives. It’s not a social class thing. But many young people are reluctant to share their points of view with their family and friends.
“Rights in work is a big fear for me. I’m homosexual and plan to adopt a child, how much adoption leave will I be given? I don’t want that in the hands of the government who don’t always have the interests of the rest of the country at heart. If we give more autonomy to them we risk excluding and alienating more people than we actually do already?
