Maybe you became interested in politics during the 2010 election, or maybe you’ve been thinking for a while you’d like to know more about politics but aren’t quite sure where to start…

It can seem daunting looking at the political world from the outside if you haven’t studied politics or had the opportunity to be introduced to it informally through a family member or friend. But don’t worry - there are easy ways to connect into politics, figure out where you fit, and begin to participate in current political activism and thinking.

Young people have an important role to play in influencing the present and future of politics in the UK. Our generation can’t just rely on people who are already invested in politics and have been involved since they were younger. We need new faces, new voices, new ideas and a wider diversity of input. Your involvement is important. Well done for starting out on the journey…

Here are some suggestions…

Start by deciding which political party you resonate most with: 

• Look at party websites. Recent party manifestos and policies can help you see what a party’s values and priorities are.
• Read about the parties’ ideologies – the driving ideas and values that are foundational to what they do - and look at their history and how they’ve changed over time. Up-to-date A-level politics books usually provide good introductions on this (you can usually borrow these and other books on politics from public libraries)
• If you know people already involved in politics ask them why they support a particular party.

Become a member of that party (via their website). This links you into activity in the party and allows you to move from being a spectator to being a participant. The Young Fabians are affiliated to the Labour Party but not all Young Fabians are Labour party members.

If you are interested in centre-left thinking and activity and are under 31 join the Young Fabians  – it’s a great place to connect with other young people who are engaged in politics and to have opportunities to share your opinions in a safe open environment. There are some great publications to get you thinking and discussing issues, political and social events, networks, a blog, policy development groups and more...

Keep up with political news and comment. There are lots of ways to do this. Here are some suggestions:

• Read the papers
• Check www.politicshome.com regularly for top political stories
• Sign up to receive political updates into your inbox (for example from politics.co.uk, from the newspapers and from websites such as LabourList, Left Foot Forward and Progress)
• Follow people on Twitter who tweet on politics (try following the Young Fabians and see who we are following/who is following us, and check out Tweetminster too)
• Follow interesting blogs (have a look at the Young Fabian blog and its recommended links).

Attend debates, discussions and events on issues that interest you, and read publications by political think-tanks and research institutes. By linking into political news and groups that you share similar interests with you will hear about upcoming events and publications.

Go along to your local party meetings/activities. This introduces you to a community of local people interested in politics and passionate about fighting for national and local causes at a local level. You can also find out about local campaigning taking place. It can be a bit daunting going along to your first meeting or campaigning session, but get in touch with someone from the party beforehand so they can look out for you (the party website should provide contact details). Make sure you’re on their email list too so that you know what’s coming up.

Go to your party’s annual conference These are highlights of the year (held around September) where you can emerge yourself in events, debates and parties covering a huge range of issues, and where you can experience the buzz of ‘party conference’. You can go as a member (sometimes there is a rule about how long you have been a member for, but for example in 2010 this was waived for the Labour Party Conference) and apply for a ticket online about 3 months before (although you can sometimes get tickets later than this). Accommodation is always tight and people often book accommodation early in the year.

Finally, there are also lots of NGOs who independently campaign and influence politics on particular issues. They provide regular campaign actions to bring political changes in the area that they specialise in and are often a great source of up-to-date policy news.

We hope this will give you the confidence to explore politics further. Above all never feel afraid to ask questions. It is never too late to get involved in politics and you should never feel that you don’t know enough and are therefore excluded. Politics is about how we make our community, country and world a better place – and that is everybody’s business.

If you would like any more advice, please contact our Membership Officer, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Or if you see something missing on this page please send any suggestions to me too.