This week, Her Campus Exeter was lucky enough to have a chat with Joel Mason, who has recently been elected the Liberal Democrat candidate for Exeter. Unlike most other candidates, however, Joel is just 22 years old and in his fourth year at University studying PPE. No pressure to all other final year students, but he also speaks three languages and is a rugby star!
In the last few weeks, you’ve been busy attending hustings, debates and radio interviews, as well as speaking with the residents and city councillors of Exeter. How are you juggling all of this campaigning with finishing your degree?
We’ll see once it’s all over exactly how well I’ve managed to do either of those things! It is definitely difficult – I had to have my dissertation in for a few days ago, and I’ve obviously been kept busy with hustings and door-knocking and so on. At the moment, it’s just a matter of trying to cram everything in and hoping that it will all work out.
What has been the highlight of your campaigning so far?
Certainly the most amusing thing that’s happened was being featured in ‘Heat’ magazine! That was entirely unexpected and indeed, not being a regular reader, I’d never have actually found out if a friend of mine hadn’t let me know.
So do you think that being voted one of the UK’s hottest politicians will help you storm Parliament?!
I don’t know – my sister rather cruelly pointed out that I hadn’t faced the stiffest of competition, as I was mainly competing with a group of paunchy, greying, middle-aged men. We’ll see!
What is it about the Lib Dems’ policies that has drawn you to them in particular?
Looking at the other parties, what we can see is that the Labour party has made huge commitments to unfunded spending which would add to our deficit and compound the levels of debt which we already have, leading our country back into the economic problems we had before. On the other hand, you’ve got the Conservatives, who are ideologically committed to slashing the size of the state and the help that a lot of people rely on. I think the Liberal Democrats have got a good balance between trying to create both a stronger economy and a fairer society in a sustainable way.
Which non-political person do you most admire and why?
As a keen rugby fan, I’m going to have to say Jonny Wilkinson. No English rugby fan could ever forget that day in 2003 when he dropped the goal to win us the World Cup. Also, far more than that, he comes across always as a thoroughly decent bloke, he captained Toulon to European victory in the last few years, and after each match playing for Toulon, he’d go up to the press and give them interviews in French. I think he’s a very good role model for young people.
If you could only change one thing about British society, what would it be?
I think the country’s got a huge problem with social mobility. One of the most likely indicators of where someone will end up in life is where they started off in life, and I think this is really sad. Not only is it tragic for the individuals who are stuck in those situations, but it also means that the country is missing out on huge levels of untapped potential. I think that’s one of the critical things that we need to address looking into the future.
There are still thousands of students not registered to vote in the upcoming election. Do you think students are disengaged from politics, and if so, why?
Yes, they are in a sense, and there are a whole host of reasons for this. One big reason, I think, is actually the voting system. The system we have at the moment – first past the post – means that a huge number of votes are wasted and don’t end up counting or being represented in Parliament. I think that’s wrong. That’s why I’m in favour of voting reform, to try and make sure that actually everyone’s votes do count. Then, I think a lot more people will be willing to get actively engaged with the political process. However, despite the fact that our system is decidedly imperfect at the moment, I would still encourage people to vote and take an interest in following the election, because politics is the means that we have at our disposal of trying to change our society.
The NUS are spending around £40,000 on what they’re calling the ‘Liar Liar’ billboard campaign encouraging students to vote against the Lib Dems because they’re a party of ‘pledge breakers’. What’s your take on the campaign? Should the NUS be telling students how to vote?
I do disagree with the campaign. I mean, if we’re talking about political parties breaking pledges – even on tuition fees – you’ve got to look far wider than the Liberal Democrats. In 1997, the Labour party stood on a pledge not to introduce tuition fees. They then introduced them. In 2001, they pledged not to increase tuition fees. They then increased them. So we are far from being the only culprits, and if you look at the system which the Liberal Democrats have helped to introduce over the course of this Parliament, it actually has a lot to commend it. The reason we previously supported free tuition was because we thought nobody’s background should be an impediment to their going to University. However, this was a good headline for quite a badly targeted policy, whereas what we have now is a good policy with an awful headline. There’s actually a lot more help available for disadvantaged students now, as well as more students from disadvantaged backgrounds going to University than there ever were before.
Finally, if an undecided voter was reading this article, what one main point would you want to emphasise to them?
I’d say that people should look at our political system, look at what the different parties are offering, and really have a think about them. As I said, politics – although very imperfect and frustratingly slow at times – is the instrument which we have to create a strong and fair society. So I encourage people to take an interest in it and, whoever they end up voting for, to get out there on May 7th to cast their vote and have a say in what sort of society they want to see.
To find out more about Joel and his campaign, visit facebook.com/joelmasonforexeter