Thursday Thoughts #4

There are many things I have an interest in: fashion, make-up, rugby league but most people don't know that I am very interested in politics. I wouldn't say I'm obsessed or know everything about it but I do regularly look at the news in regards to political policies and change. It's an interest that started when I was about 16 and I started college. I took Government and Politics as an AS-Level but didn't complete it for various reasons. Nevertheless, I always have a keen eye when it comes to politics, especially when there are elections nearing. As many of you will be aware of (and some probably won't), today is the European elections and some local council elections which are critical for the UK's future. However, whilst on Twitter this morning, I realised how many people weren't going to vote. I cannot stress enough how much you should exercise your right to vote, especially young people and females. In many developing countries, only men are allowed to vote and women are petitioning to get their voices heard. I know most people's reply to that will be 'Well my vote won't count'. I say to that, you and thousands more with that opinion should not be allowed to moan when you don't like the people elected. Yes, when you vote and the guy you voted for doesn't get elected, it's a pain but you live with it.

These European elections are causing a lot of talk amongst voters as the main issue is do you want to stay in Europe or not? The main parties are in favour of staying in the EU (as am I) but several smaller parties are against it. UKIP are the main party people are talking about and it's scary that a lot of people are choosing to vote for them. The problem is they haven't actually looked at their other policies. They do not support gay marriage, wants to cut public spending by £77bn and wants to get rid of any renewable energy source. I could go on but people are only seeing the 'out of the EU' policy and haven't actually researched anything else. Those people are playing a dangerous game because I'm scared that they will get seats in the European Parliament. They are just as bad as the BNP in the 'British jobs for British workers' aspects and their hatred of the EU. Foreign citizens mostly come to the UK for work and they do the jobs that British people won't like strawberry and potato picking. I've seen them gathered on street corners at 7am waiting to be picked up. They work long days for less than minimum wage. British people are expensive; they want a good wage, lots of benefits and breaks and only want to work when they want to. Foreign citizens have amazing work ethics and British people don't. At the end of the day, it's an issue that many people do not have the same viewpoint as I on this matter. I feel strongly about staying in the EU; people fail to realise that there are no trade barriers within the EU and the foreigners that come to work in the UK have just as much right to as we do if we want to go and work elsewhere in Europe. Also, if we pull out of the EU, the prices of goods will increase and there will be less jobs because companies will not invest money into their UK factories and will pull out altogether. For this reason alone, I think it's a good enough reason to stay with the EU.

Another issue about elections is the fact that very few young people vote. At the 2010 general elections, 44% of 18-24 year olds voted. However, with local and European elections, this percentage is always significantly lower. The fact that less than half of us vote is disturbing frankly. 16 and 17 year olds want the right to be able to vote too; I say as much as I'd love them to lower the voting age to 16, I think it means that this 44% figure will decrease even more with the inclusion of 16 and 17 year olds. Here are a few reasons as to why young people don't vote:

• not enough info available about parties, policies or how to vote
• don't think it affects them
• politicians don't listen to young people, don't think they have a voice
• politicians more interested in big businesses
• parents/family/friends don't vote
• when they do try and aim at young people, often condescending in their communications
• don't feel represented in Parliament: all middle-class, middle-aged men running the country
• don't feel a connection with any party

Now I understand these viewpoints, every single one of them I do, but every vote does matter. Today, UKIP is getting more support than ever so if the rest of the country don't vote against them, they'll win! In that case, your vote matters more than ever. 

In order to get young people more involved in elections, they need more information. As soon as every person in the country turns 18 and has a voting card sent out to them, they should be sent out an election pack with information on the parities, the policies they stand for and how these policies will affect different types of people. I know each party sends out their own leaflets but let's face it, most of us don't read them because they're always biased. As well as this, there should be an online resource that is updated every election with the political parties' new policies. This way, it is quicker to access and won't cost the government as much. Another issue is the place to vote. Ballots are being trialled today in such places as hairdressers and launderettes in order to be more convenient. I've always thought supermarkets should have ballot boxes placed at the doors on election day as most shoppers will be in there either before or after work and wouldn't need to make an extra journey to the polling station. The polling stations are local and are open from 7am to 10pm so it shouldn't really be an issue but by having them in more convenient places, it might be able to gather more voters; those voters would probably make a huge decision to the overall results too.

As you can see, it's a subject that I feel very passionate about. I don't really have a favoured party but I feel like people should read all the policies of the parties involved before casting their vote. Your vote does count.