How Do Teenage Stormzy Fans Feel About the Election?

Of any and all actually relevant British public personalities, Stormzy has been one of the most vocal supporters of the Labour party, telling the Guardian about his admiration for Jeremy Corbyn. Other grime artists have followed suit, with Novelist, AJ Tracey and JME all backing JC.

Have these public endorsements made an impact on young grime fans? To find out, we spoke to some teenagers outside Stormzy's gig at Brixton Academy.

VICE: How do you feel about the election?
Luka: No one has told me anything about it, so how would I know? In schools now you don't learn about what goes on in politics, you just learn about how to put your head down and pass exams, and that is all teachers care about. Right now I'm doing my GCSEs, so everything is very mechanical and strict.

Have you ever had a lesson on politics in school?
We used to in year 8, but that was when we were young and the school wasn't trying to drag results out of you for their spreadsheets. They give us nothing, so I'll be pretty stranded once I'm 18.

Do your parents talk to you about it?
My mum don't tell me and I don't really know my dad, so he ain't giving me nothing. But my mum is like, "That doesn't matter, that doesn't concern you."

Do you think when you're older you'll become more engaged in it?
When it affects me more, I will probably care more, but right now my mum puts food on the table for me, she is the one working and I can't do anything about the government. Now, if I listen to the radio or watch the news or read an article on it, I just get so, so angry about the world – but then I don't know how to engage with it, what to do. I can't even vote 'cause I am too young, so what's the point? You just have to pick the less shit party. There is no real outcome; there never has been when people have proposed change.

VICE: What do you girls think about the election? Who would you vote for if you could?
Harriet: Probably Labour.

Why is that?
Harriet: I just wouldn't be a Tory – that is shaming, I know that for sure. I know a lot of people who are Tories – I have friends like that – but I just don't believe in it. So I'd either be Labour or I'd go mental and be like, "Fuck it, Green Party."

What about you Millie?
Millie: Anyone but UKIP or Theresa May. I don't really know anything about politics, but I just know Theresa May is not right. All I know is that equality is good and she doesn't seem to stand for that.

Where do you think these views came from?
Harriet: My parents, probably. They're really political when it comes to stuff like work, the NHS and stuff. They hate her as well, and I trust my parents more than I trust some stuffy politician talking to me down the television.

WATCH: Was Theresa May right to call a snap election?

VICE: How do you guys feel about the election?
Will: I think Theresa May is the safest and the best person to do the job.
Lucy: Jeremy Corbyn is too weak.
Will: Corbyn is a wet flannel – he's unelectable. Or at least that's what everyone says.

Who do you think these views are influenced by?
Lucy: I would say my parents.
Will: Parents, family, because at this age we can't vote, so it's all about how our parents will vote.
Lucy: I think, when I become 18, I'll become a lot more interested in it because I'll be able to enact my own view and make a difference to the vote. At this age I have to go with what my parents are saying, because although I'm entitled to my own opinion, what I say doesn't count for anything. It would create too many rifts at the dinner table.

VICE: How do you feel about the election?
Roberto: Wow, I'm at a Stormzy gig – I'm here to go mad. Will I get paid for answering this, 'cause it's an effort? Nah, I'm joking. I'm not really paying attention to the election if I'm honest with you. I don't have a clue what's happening with it at all.

Why do you think so many young people are disengaged from politics?
Cause it's just not interesting, is it? I'm not interested in what's happening with all that – it don't affect me, I feel distant from it. Every party chats about being different, but they all act the same. Something came up recently about car insurance – like, a petition went out to push it down – and it's still so expensive for young men, and I need to drive, but no one has taken it into consideration. I've given up on that shit.

VICE: If you could vote in the elections who would you vote for?
Darrius: Donald Trump [laughs]. No, I'm joking. I don't watch politics generally, so I'm guessing I wouldn't vote. My opinion wouldn't be worth listening to – it might ruin it for people who have done their research.

Why are you not into politics?
It doesn't interest me. It doesn't draw young people's attention – people are too busy doing fun shit, like going to a Stormzy concert; they ain't got time to pay attention to David Morrison or whatever he's called. Boris Manson, or whatever he's called. These guys, they don't represent young people.