Declining youth involvement has become a recurrent feature of elections in recent decades, and, despite Russell Brand’s 11th-hour endorsement of Ed Miliband, this year’s general election followed a similar script. Yet the election of the UK’s youngest ever MP, Mhairi Black, seemed to symbolise the SNP’s appeal to Scottish youth following a huge turnout in the referendum (where 16-year-olds were eligible to vote). And the Lib Dems’ electoral destruction was held by many to be payback for the party’s U-turn on student fees. Similarly, Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership surge was partly attributed to the 66-year-old’s appeal to younger voters. The Conservatives, meanwhile – already accused of producing the ‘worst ever Budget for young people’ - faced accusations of cynically playing to their base of ageing traditionalists by vetoing proposals for 16-year-olds to vote in the upcoming EU referendum.

Yet even if the youth vote were suddenly mobilised, it is not so clear cut who would benefit. The British Social Attitudes Survey suggests under-35s are more liberal than their forebears on many issues, but their more conservative views on alcohol, drugs and casual sex have led some to dub them ‘Generation Sensible’. Members of The Green Party, which boasts the largest youth wing of any main party, have even suggested they’d be more willing to back the eco-Tory Zac Goldsmith than a Labour candidate for London Mayor. Meanwhile, claims that the young are less tribal and nationalistic are seemingly contradicted by the experience of young ‘cybernats’ in Scotland. While it is often asserted that younger generations prefer to engage in politics away from the ballot box, it is not clear they have built meaningful alternative institutions in which to do so. Nonetheless, as the average age of voters rises, the average age of new politicians is getting younger (even discounting Black’s shock win).

When trust in mainstream politics is at an all-time low, what continues to motivate young people engaging in the party system? Do young campaigners see this generation’s political battles as different from before, or is there more nostalgia for the certainties of left vs right? Is idealism or pragmatism the primary motivation to sit on council meetings or fight often hopeless causes in elections? What does it mean to be a member of a political party today? And will the proposed referendum on EU membership have a similar galvanising effect as the Scottish vote?