Lifestyle & politics

Politics affects everyone and even people who say they have no interest in politics will probably find themselves getting involved in heated debates when contentious political issues come to the fore. Politics affects everything from the price of a loaf of bread and healthcare provisions to the choice of school for your children and the number of police patrolling the streets.

Why is politics important?

Politics is important because it has a major influence on how we live our lives, the services available to us and the choices we make. Many people assume that politics is boring and say that they have no interest in it because it’s old fashioned and out of touch but politics is ever-present and it is important that people realise the impact politics has on their lives.

Modern politics and lifestyle choices

For many years, politics was associated with images of middle-aged men with privileged backgrounds and most people thought that politicians were out of touch with the ‘real people’. However, in recent years the media has enabled people to get closer to politicians and become more involved in politics. The last election was unique because there were live televised debates, which enabled people to get a clearer understanding of each party’s policies and also allowed people to develop a better idea of the candidates and their approach to politics. The debates attracted a large audience and made politics more accessible to people. 24 hour news channels and the internet also enable people to keep up to date with current affairs and politics.

Politics may not often be linked with lifestyle choices but they are actually closely related. The lifestyle choices people make are not only influenced by politics but they also have an influence on politics. Health is closely related to lifestyle choices; if people make negative lifestyle choices, they are more likely to become ill and this has an effect on expenditure on health services, the kinds of services available to people and also the policies introduced by government ministers.

Drinking has been highlighted as one of the most significant problems facing modern society. Young people are drinking more and more and this is having an effect on their health. Figures also show that drinking is costing the NHS millions of pounds each year. As a result of the figures and research carried out by government departments, policies have been introduced to curb drinking. This includes television advertising campaigns to warn people about the dangers of drinking, policies to discourage binge drinking and policies to increase the cost of alcohol to discourage people from drinking too much.