“I do believe there is an appetite for change now.”
Laura Harmon was 20 years old when she got into politics.
It was also the same time that she came out as gay. As a student in University College Cork, she was aware that marrying somebody of the same sex wasn’t an option for her.
And so, she wanted to change that.
Earlier this week, Laura shared her campaign video for the upcoming Seanad election.
Since Sunday (and at the time of writing), the clip has received almost 35,000 views, steadily making its way around Twitter and Facebook, shared hundreds of times by those among us who are eager – and ready – for change.
“We are generation change,” Laura says in the clip. “We made grá the law, and we made mná the law, but there is still so much more to do.
“Our generation does not accept the status quo.”
https://twitter.com/Harmonica26/status/1234192540523429897?s=20
One of the youngest candidates in this year’s Seanad election – and one of the youngest when she ran for the first time in 2016 – Laura says her time in college was where she found her political footing.
An avid campaigner for equal rights, women’s rights, and student rights, she eventually became the first female president of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) in 20 years – a feat that she hopes will benefit her in the upcoming election.
“I’m a fresh, progressive candidate,” she tells Her. “The last time I came close [to being elected], people of all ages did vote for me. But there are 12,000 new voters registered for the Seanad elections since last time.
“A lot of the new voters would have been involved with the marriage equality referendum and with Repeal. They’re looking to make a difference again.
“I do believe there’s an appetite for change now. People want to see the Seanad reformed and for politicians to stand up for the rights of the marginalised.”
To do this, Laura wants to address the issues that are most important to young people in Ireland today.
Housing, education, climate action, and health reform are at the top of her list (and her campaign leaflet), but she also wants to focus on the concerns that have not been receiving nationwide attention as of late – like improved healthcare for trans people, a safe cycling infrastructure, and the implementation of the Istanbul Convention.
“There is a lot more to be done,” she says. “We still need safety zone legislation to protect people from protests outside maternity hospitals.
“It’s really important that people feel like these issues are important and that they are a key priority for the next Dáil and the next Seanad.”
But it’s not just generation change that Laura – and the young politicians like her – are reaching.
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and more recently even TikTok, have become core platforms for sharing policies, speaking to voters, and encouraging change in the political sphere – not just for the youth, but for everyone.
“Social media is already playing a huge role, we saw that with the Together For Yes campaign,” she says.
“The likes of Twitter and Instagram are a great way to tell stories and talk about policies and vision. It’s also a far more personal way of coming across, almost like talking to voters as if you’re face to face.”
Laura hopes that this is what her campaign video is doing – telling a politician’s story that is not all that different or far removed from the people she wants to represent.
“I’m young, I’m progressive, I’m a woman, I’m gay, I’m a renter, I have debts,” she says in the clip.
“I’m an activist who has helped to bring about significant social change to the people of Ireland. I helped make Ireland a more open and welcoming place, and I believe I can do that again.
“Creating an Ireland that is accessible, ambitious and equal for all is my vision.”
