BBC 6 minute English-Does your age affect your political views

Transcript of the podcast

Note: This is not a word for word transcript

.Neil: Hello. This is 6 Minute English, I’m Neil

.Sam: And I’m Sam

?Neil: Sam, do you remember the first time you voted

Sam: No I don’t, but I remember being very keen to do it. It would have been the first election after my 18th birthday

… Neil: So, over the many, many, many years since then

!Sam: … eh, not so much with the ‘manys’ if you don’t mind Neil

… Neil: In the very, very few years since then

!Sam: That’s more like it

?Neil: In the years since then, have your political views changed very much

Sam: I think my political views are a lot better informed now. I think the decisions I make are based on a better understanding of the political situation – but I still generally agree with the same things I did when I was younger, I think

Neil: There is a belief that as we get older we become more right-wing in our political views and opinions. Is this true and if so, why? We’ll be finding out a little bit more about this, but first a question. What was the first UK general election in which 18-year-olds could vote A: 1929 B: 1950, or C: 1970 ?So, what do you reckon then Sam

Sam: Well, they were all before my time. I’m going to say 1950 – that sounds about right – it was the decade in which teenagers were invented, after all

Neil: OK. Well, I will reveal the answer later in the programme. James Tilley is a professor of politics at the University of Oxford. He appeared recently on BBC Radio 4’s programme Analysis and was asked why, if it is true, do we become more right-wing as we get older. What does he think

Professor James Tilley

The question that age affects our political views is a tricky one. I think probably the most plausible explanation is that people just generally become a bit more resistant to change as they get older and I think also that they also tend to perhaps, become less idealistic

?Neil: So, what reasons does he give

Sam: Well, he talks about what he thinks are the most plausible explanations. Plausible is an adjective which means something is believable; it’s reasonable and it makes sense

?Neil: And what are the plausible explanations

Sam: Well, he says that generally, as we get older, we like to have more stability in our lives, we don’t like change, in fact we are resistant to change. That means we are against change. When we are younger we might like the idea of revolution, we might be very idealistic. This means, for example, we might think that we can and should change the world to make things better. This would cause big changes in the world which when we are older and more settled in our lives, do not seem like such a good idea

.Neil: Let’s listen again

Professor James Tilley

The question that age affects our political views is a tricky one. I think probably the most plausible explanation is that people just generally become a bit more resistant to change as they get older and I think also that they also tend to become less idealistic

Neil: Professor Tilley goes on to explain more about why being resistant to change might lead people to support more right-wing policies

Professor James Tilley

So, if parties on the right represent a platform which is perhaps more favourable to the status quo, it’s perhaps more about pragmatism than it is about idealism, then that might be more attractive to older people than younger people

?Neil: So, what is seen as the appeal of moving to the right

Sam: Political parties have a particular set of policies. This is sometimes known as their platform. Professor Tilley says that if their platforms support the status quo, they might be more attractive to older people. The status quo is a Latin phrase we use in English to refer to the situation as it is now – that is, one that is not going to change. Traditionally it’s parties of the centre right that seem to be more supportive of the status quo

Neil: So, as we get older he says our political views are less about idealism and more about pragmatism. Pragmatism is being practical and realistic about what can be achieved and how it can be achieved

Sam: But of course this doesn’t apply to everyone and just because people seem to move more to the right as they get older doesn’t mean that they completely change their politics

.Neil: Let’s hear Professor Tilley again

Professor James Tilley

So, if parties on the right represent a platform which is perhaps more favourable to the status quo, it’s perhaps more about pragmatism than it is about idealism, then that might be more attractive to older people than younger people

Neil: Right, let’s get the answer to our question. What was the first UK general election in which 18-year-olds could vote A: 1929 B: 1950, or C: 1970 ?Sam, what did you say

.Sam: I thought it was 1950

Neil: Well, you’re wrong I’m afraid. The correct answer is 1970. 18-year-olds have been allowed to vote in the UK since 1969 and the first general election after then was in 1970. So, a bit later than you thought, Sam, but congratulations to anyone who did get that right. OK, let’s remind ourselves of our vocabulary

.’Sam: Yes, first we had plausible. An adjective that means ‘believable and possible

.Neil: Being resistant to something means you are against it and don’t want it to happen

.Sam: If you are idealistic you have a clear and simple moral view of how things should be

Neil: This contrasts with one of our other words, pragmatism, this noun is the idea of being realistic and practical about what can be achieved

Sam: A platform can describe the policies and ideas of a political party or politician. And the status quo is the unchanging situation as it is now

Neil: OK, thank you Sam. That’s all from us in this programme. Do join us again and if you can’t wait you can find lots more from BBC Learning English online, on social media and on our app. Goodbye

!Sam: Bye