What students at Bristol Uni think about the recent election results

VaselineMay 9, 2024

0 3 minutes read

What students at Bristol Uni think about the recent election results

We investigated why Bristol students backed the Greens, taking many seats previously held by Labour.

Last week’s local council elections saw the Green Party win the most seats in Bristol. The Bristol tab asks students for their thoughts.

Asked on Instagram, 53% of students said they voted Green in the May 2 election. Five common themes emerged when we asked students why they voted Green: rent control, disappointment with Labour, attitudes towards Palestine, the minimum wage and public transport.

Rent

During the rent strikes in Bristol, the Green Party supported the students’ demand for fairer rent. Current co-leader and Bristol councilor Carla Denyer even helped paint the famous ‘fair rent now’ sign on the side of the M32. For years, a recurring theme among students at Bristol Uni has been the price of rent. The Bristol Green Party has been in favor of rent control and increasing the number of affordable homes in Bristol.

The students’ properties were claimed to be mouldy, energy inefficient and overpriced. House hunting season is one of the most dreaded for Bristol Uni students, a vicious battle to get a property you can afford, with people you like and in the right area.

The housing crisis doesn’t end when you graduate, with the council reporting that “Residents in Bristol now need almost nine times their annual salary to buy a home”. And Shelter found poor tenancy conditions and rising unregulated costs. This means for many students that living in the city they call home after they graduate is nearly impossible.

The Greens perhaps offer a glimmer of hope for change, with housing at the forefront of their policies.

Disappointed with Work

“I feel like crap, I just want my old job back” was the sentiment expressed by a Bristol student. Labor usually dominates the student vote nationally, this election shows just how disaffected Bristol Uni students are with the party. Another student claimed: “12 years as a Labor mayor was so bad I got out of office.” This is a comment on Bristol’s vote to abolish the mayor in 2022 in favor of a committee-led approach.

Students felt Labor had let them down with austerity, a lax attitude to climate change and by “engaging in a culture war against the most vulnerable people”. Recent Labor policies and attitudes have disillusioned students, causing them to go green.

One student even called Kier Starmer “a red Tory”. It is clear that for Labor to regain a base of student support in Bristol ahead of the national election, it needs to take action and make its voices heard.

Position towards Palestine

Recently, the university campus has been political, with a series of pro-Palestinian protests. This includes an ongoing camp in the Royal Fort Gardens, joining students across the country in solidarity with Palestine. Given the Greens’ firm stance on a cease-fire in Gaza, it begs the question of how this vote affected the student vote.

Bristol students told The Tab they voted for Green as “the only party that has not let me down in Palestine” and “is not complicit in genocide. “The Greens called for an immediate ceasefire last October, the only national party to do so.

Rest and the local government’s attitude to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza is very important to Bristol students.

Minimum wage

One student told The Bristol Tab they voted Green because they “support a £15 minimum wage”.

Currently, if you’re under 21, companies can pay you £8.90 an hour, which is more than £2 less than the National Living Wage. This, combined with the rising cost of living and exorbitant rent prices, leaves many students in Bristol in a difficult position.

The national Green Party has pledged to raise the minimum wage to £15 an hour. Although this goes beyond the remit of Bristol City Council, the vote highlights students’ wider frustrations with government policy.

Transport

Anyone who has spent 10 minutes trying to park a level or waited 30 minutes for the bus to never come will know that transport in Bristol is often less than desirable. One student expressed a wish for the council to “bring the trams back”. While trams and vernacular railways are not part of the Green Manifesto, they claim to halve bus fares for under-21s.

They want to improve existing transport links so the ice cream doesn’t melt waiting for the bus home after your Clifton Down Sainsbury’s. They aim to increase cycle lanes and invest in sustainable and cheap public transport in Bristol, so your 9am workout in Coombe Dingle is an easier feat.