A Left Unity policy on children and young people?

Micheline Mason of Wandsworth & Merton Left Unity writes

With the horrors of the Rotherham story festering in the back of my mind, freshly overlaid over the horrors of the dead children in Gaza, I went out yesterday as a member of Left Unity and 38 Degrees to leaflet my local area about the TTIP. A young girl, aged about ten, looked interested so I offered her a leaflet. “Oh,” she said “Am I allowed?!” I somehow thought that this young woman had illustrated something which I have been trying to put into words. Children are an oppressed group. They have no sense of entitlement because they have almost no rights. Maybe they are the most oppressed group in the world.

Children come into the world with absolutely no power and are completely dependent on the adults around them to keep them alive, nurture them, facilitate their development, empower them, educate them, meet their emotional needs, and to create a world in which they have a meaningful role as adults.

It is hard enough for children to get by with the care of their half crazy and under-resourced parents, but children without (functioning) parents are the most vulnerable of all, such as children in ‘care’, or those in custody, hospitals, or residential special schools.

It struck me that as a political party, one of our most pressing responsibilities would be to safeguard the interests of children. As such it would be a great thing to put together a dedicated policy on children and young people. I do not think any other political party has done this.

The LU Education commission has begun to look at this, advocating high quality, play-based nursery provision for all children on a part-time or full-time basis up to the age of six. At the core of this proposal is the massive evidence that children are being deprived of the means to develop their autonomy, social skills, health, imagination and much more in the drive to force them into a market-led education system far too early. Thousands of early years workers have come together to challenge this under the umbrella of the Save Childhood Movement.

This is the tip of the iceberg. There is so much to be said about abuse, neglect, violence towards and disempowerment of young people, even the rich ones with their nannies and public schools. It would be so useful to start thinking about what could be done better. What a great way to involve current young people, by asking them to help us.

Should we do it? I would certainly be happy to be involved.