Labour is in crisis, we are told. Any hope of a responsible Labour economic policy must apparently be formed in reaction to the “great successes” of the coalition government. I find this solution to Labour’s problems uninspiring. This is why, for me and many of my peers, the time to join the Labour party is now. And now we have the opportunity to vote for someone different in the upcoming leadership elections – Jeremy Corbyn.

I am not alone in joining the Labour party in order to vote in this leadership election. People of my age are finding that this is our chance to reshape the left of British politics, as Labour looks to reshape itself. The options of continuing with New Labour or shifting further to the right just aren’t the solutions that we need. Tuition fees, graduate employment, housing, gender equality and climate change: these are the issues that young people care about, not the short-term deficit, which is fairly irrelevant to achieving these ends.

At the moment, neither of the two main parties are prioritising the things we care about, so it’s no surprise to see the youth vote going to the Greens, or Ukip.

This leadership election could be a chance for us to change our options, to change what the country can choose in 2020, to give everyone an alternative under a mainstream party. This is why many young people are turning to Jeremy Corbyn.

It is Corbyn’s bold, if occasionally excessive, passion for change that makes him so appealing to young voters like myself. Growing up in a world that is intensely distrustful of politicians, with the media focus on the MPs’ expenses scandal, economic disaster and war, it is continually surprising to me that we are expected to vote for more of the same. Unlike many of his critics, I see Corbyn as a step into the future, not into the past. He is clear and explicit in his views, genuine and forward-thinking.

This is almost the opposite of what we have been told politicians are, and quite different from the other stony-faced, adviser-scripted leadership hopefuls. Corbyn also claims few expenses, and is a five-time winner of parliament’s Beard of the Year, which would give Milifandom a run for its money.

He's the opposite of what we've been told politicians are, and from the other adviser-scripted leadership hopefuls

Yet it isn’t just his personality that has caused young people to join Labour and flock to his side. His policies align with their progressive values. He is focused on the long-term issues that will stretch to the end of our generation and beyond. He is proactive in his efforts for peace in the Middle East, and stopping the replacement of Trident. He wants to immediately tackle climate change, and create more equal opportunities through education, and the cutting of tuition fees. He focuses on people and their needs.

The generation gap has recently become far more apparent – due, I believe, to the progressive influence stemming from our generation’s second home, the internet. We have been brought up in a global setting, with constant international communications and discussions, creating more open, unifying and liberal thought. We look to America, and see Barack Obama trying to achieve great social change: respectable economic growth, improving healthcare, lower unemployment, and all while increasing government spending.

Even if Labour doesn’t end up with the leader that I want, Corbyn’s rising support should tell it one thing about its new members. They don’t want Conservative-lite, they want a Labour that stands up for its values of fairness, equality and social justice.