Okay, so presumably you clicked on this post because you're 18-24 and are not going to vote in the upcoming General Election. As a 22 year old young British woman, I totally get it. I never had any real education on politics in school - my family are also not political, so throughout my teens, politics always seemed incomprehensible. That was until the last UK election in 2015, when I finally decided to buck up my ideas and get involved, as it was the first election I was actually old enough to vote in. I still quite firmly believe that General Elections are a load of codswallop and a lot of politicians are just very well taught manipulators, spewing shit. That said, Britain is my country and I reserve my right to have what little say in it I can. In this post I'm going to be debunking your excuses to help you realise that you too, should be exercising your right to vote. Let's start with...
EXCUSES
"My Vote Doesn't Make A Difference"
I cry, I weep, I cry; of course your vote makes a difference! If you never raise your concerns or opinions, then of course it won't. You actually have to pull your finger out and do something if you want to induce change. Remember how pissed we all were at the older generations deciding our future with Brexit? If more 18-24 year olds had voted, it may have been different. May that be a lesson to us all.
Really? Or have you just not done enough research? Same goes for "they're all as bad as each other" - we know that, the whole of the UK knows that. You just have to use your better judgement to pick a party that you think is the lesser of two evils (sigh). We're a generation who've grown up with information at our fingertips with the internet, there is nothing stopping you from doing some research about the parties; heck, there's even quizzes such as ISideWith to help you find out which party your beliefs coincide with. No excuses now.
I'll bet one of the reasons a lot of young people feel disconnected from politics is because we are not targeted. We're not targeted because not enough of us get involved. If a party know a lot of 60 year old men in a specific area of the UK are consistent voters, they're going to send a crap ton of campaign drivel their way, in order to win that vote, rather than trying to persuade a group of 18 year olds who may not even vote at all. If more 18-24 year olds actually started voting, maybe political parties might start taking an interest in trying to win our votes and tailor their campaigns accordingly. Just a thought.
If you really can't make a decision because you truly do not support any of the parties then fair play. But personally, I void any non-voters complaints on the winning party invalid - no vote, no opinion.
"I Feel Misrepresented By The Available Parties"
I'll bet one of the reasons a lot of young people feel disconnected from politics is because we are not targeted. We're not targeted because not enough of us get involved. If a party know a lot of 60 year old men in a specific area of the UK are consistent voters, they're going to send a crap ton of campaign drivel their way, in order to win that vote, rather than trying to persuade a group of 18 year olds who may not even vote at all. If more 18-24 year olds actually started voting, maybe political parties might start taking an interest in trying to win our votes and tailor their campaigns accordingly. Just a thought.
If you really can't make a decision because you truly do not support any of the parties then fair play. But personally, I void any non-voters complaints on the winning party invalid - no vote, no opinion.
MAKING AN INFORMED DECISION
Policies Over Prime Minister
You might not like Jeremy Corbyn or Teresa May or Tim Farron, but you're not actually voting for them. You're voting for their party and their policies. Make sure you research all of their manifesto's and select that one that you feel you agree with most; none of the PM's are running around doing whatever the hell they want, so if you feel like you support a party but not it's leader, research some of the other members of the party, see how you feel about them to get a broader view of the party as a whole.
Reason Over Rhyme
Just because a party announces they're putting 'x' million pounds into the NHS doesn't make it true, nor is it necessarily realistic. Yes, it all sounds very nice, but make sure the party give sound reasons and plans for all these fancy ideas. If they're not announcing the plans, get in touch - what's Twitter for if not for hounding public figures? Any vague wishy-washy answers they do give, do your research into these; let's not repeat Brexit's false immigration claims.
Don't Get Caught Up In Campaign Gimmicks
Nigel Farage and that bloody bus is all I'm saying💩....
I hope you found this post useful, but more than anything, I hope you're at least considering voting in the election.
Don't forget the deadline for registering to vote is tomorrow, Monday 22nd May 2017 at 11:59pm; you can do this here, if you haven't already.
May the odds be ever in Britain's favour.
18-24 Voters
- May 21, 2017
Dear 18-24 Year Olds Who Aren't Voting In The UK General Election on June 8th
Okay, so presumably you clicked on this post because you're 18-24 and are not going to vote in the upcoming General Election. As a ...
