Haven't we grown up in some ways..

[Soph0571]

..Watching X Factor and Felix was just on the stage - a transgender chap of 20. No one blinked an eye. Remember back to the day of Pop Idol and Will Young, when he had to do a controlled interview because one of the red tops was going to out him? And then we all thought he would lose cause he was gay....

Last decade shock at the gay guy ( I wasn't shocked of course but I live in the London bubble)
Fast forward to today and no drama about a trans chap trying out for the show.

For all the bollocks of Brexit and the right being on going wankers, at heart we are a Progressive nation, and we are progressing nicely, thank you very much. Bloody marvellous!

[T_i_B]

1. Maybe the challenge here....

...is to get people to vote for who goes through on the X Factor to vote in elections.

As it is, British politics is dominated by the OAP block vote, which keeps the Tories in power on the basis of a rather spiteful agenda tailored specifically to the retired.

[LeftishBrit]

2. Although you'd think that the elderly would be particularly concerned about the NHS, pensions, etc.

However, I think that you're right that there's a certain nostalgia-dominated block that dominates politics: Make Britain Great Again. It includes not just OAPs but many people in their 50s and early 60s, who haven't retired yet (I am in that sort of age group myself, but do not personally look back sentimentally to the 70s). Some of them definitely used the referendum as a time machine to get back to the glorious days of their youth. Many people indeed seem nostalgic for a time before they were born, talking about When We Won the War: no, unless they're actually over 90, they didn't; and people who do remember the war usually are less nostalgic about it.

I agree that one problem is that younger people are less likely than older people to get to the polls, skewing the voting electorate.

[T_i_B]

4. Britain also has an ageing population....

...which tilts things even more towards the elderly. The gap between the generations is particularly pronounced in politics, with the elderly heavily favouring right wing politics, which is in turn heavily rejected by the young.

This is a major factor in Labour's current troubles in old coal mining areas, where they are struggling with an ageing population, in areas that were very insular to begin with. It's also a factor in many of the electoral issues facing the Conservatives.

[The King of Prussia]

5. I'm 57

most of my friends are a similar age. We all hate the tories. I hate the Lib Dems as well. I cant remember the last time I met a tory.

[T_i_B]

6. Can depend where you live

I used to live down in Essex, and it's virtually impossible to avoid Tories down there.

Personally I've seen enough of tribal Tories and tribal Labour to stick two fingers up at both tendencies.

[LeftishBrit]

3. One of my vices is reading rather trashy women's magazines...

and it's noticeable that these have 'grown up' quite a bit in recent years. Same-sex marriages are treated far more as a natural part of life; and there are friendly portrayals of transgender people. The people most often portrayed as the bad guys are abusive husbands. Quite a change from a few years ago.