United Kingdom

The Snap, Crackle & Pop Election

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Introduction

So it’s the eve of the registration deadline (tomorrow night, 11:59pm), and just under 3 weeks until the general election itself. As someone that enjoys and keeps up with politics, the last few weeks have been both tedious and tiresome. Mainstream media have been busy with its right winged propaganda whilst social media has been inundated with its left winged counterpart (of which I have also been guilty of). In the age of ‘alternative facts’ and information bombardment, it has become increasingly hard to form an informed opinion. What’s more is that it seems that there is no longer any room for rational debate, opinion is no longer separated from the person. The topic of politics is a taboo, with character assassination becoming increasingly more prevalent rather than the objective scrutiny of policies.

There will be a fair few people who will still be undecided on which way they will vote. This should not be an opportunity for us to instantly force our bias and agenda upon them… I am myself fairly left in my politics, with my key concerns being the underfunding of the National Health Service, social care and disability benefits (amongst many others)… however, it would be extremely ignorant of me to assume everyone has the same beliefs and rank them in the same order of importance as I do.

Therefore, my aim is to try and provide an informative pathway to help guide people to find the correct choice based on their own beliefs.

Register to vote!

The first step is to register to vote, I feel everyone should exercise their right to vote. Even if it means spoiling your ballot paper. I cannot stress enough how much it infuriates me when someone says “well you can’t blame me because I didn’t vote.” Yes, yes I can! Someone having a different opinion to me isn’t the problem. Apathy, however, is and it’s inexcusable! So please at the very least register to vote by 11:59 the 22nd of May. It literally takes less than 5 minutes.

Figure 1 shows the percentage of the people registered onto the electorate but did not exercise their right to vote vs. the vote percentage for each of the major parties in the 2015 general election (Reference). As you can see the non-voters could have had a major say in the last general election.

Figure 1 % of electorate

Figure 1: Showing percentage of electorate who didn’t vote vs. percentage party vote (Click to Enlarge)

N.B. If you don’t have your polling card yet, it’s likely you’re not yet registered. 

Finding the Right Party for You

The next important thing is to find a party who matches your opinions. Each party should have a manifesto, however, these are usually over 100 pages long and tend to use smoke and mirror tactics instead of informative information. Very few people have the time to read these and will probably be more confused than ever if they did.

My recommendation is to utilise the online questionnaires which focus on key areas. These allow you to provide answers to questions that you believe to be the best options. Some also allow you to rank each issue on how important each issue are to you. The results will show which party best represents your beliefs from your answers. This will get you out of the starting blocks and give you a direction for research. I would recommend doing multiple tests for an increased accuracy. Below are 4 sites I have used and have found quite useful:

Further Research your Local Area, and MP.

Once you have found the parties that you feel you’re most in line with, it would be an idea to research your local area. This will be the MP and seat you will be voting into parliament. Remember, you’re not actually voting for Corbyn, May et al., (unless they are your local MP) but for your local MP. One of the best things to research would be what your local MP has voted for and against in the past and see if they match what you would have voted if you were in similar position.

Finally, you could look up past results of your local constituency via the electoral calculus. This will show how popular each party has been in the past. If you are still struggling to choose between two parties you can see which party has been historically more popular in the area and thus more likely to gain/hold the seat. This is also useful if your motivation is to try and keep a party out, rather than voting a party in. You can look at their direct competition within your area.

I hope this has proven useful, feel free to comment and share. I cannot stress enough, everyone has a right to vote, everyone has a right to an opinion and choice, not everyone is going to have the same opinion and choice. Just make sure you’re certain that you’re making the right choices for you and your family. 5 years is a very long time! Happy Voting!

“I’m Bereft you see, I think you can tell, I haven’t been doing too well…”

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The title is lyrics extracted from The 1975 song Nana, and I think the closest thing that represents my feelings on the back of the EU referendum vote. I am feeling: angry, ashamed, tired, sad, numb but most of all lost. I have been called a sore loser, I have resented this, most of all because this was not a game! Not some football cup final where by in large it all goes back to normal for the season to follow. This has changed the whole country on its head, and I am aware this is not a bad thing for a small majority of you, but please remember it feels catastrophic for a large minority.

I do not judge people on their vote, it is how democracy works (although with such a huge decsion I would expect a larger majority threshold). I do not feel I can say any individual is wrong with what they voted, it’s all opinion and no more invalid than my own. However as much as I accept that some people are happy with this outcome, please accept that just under 50% are devastated. I personally feel lost, I’ve lost my identity and nationality. My favourite attribute of the ‘United’ Kingdom was togetherness and its multicultural society pulling together. I feel the message we have sent is xenophobia and that we’re a nation that has no time for outsiders. Quotes of “take our country back”, you may feel you have got it back, but I feel I have fundamentally lost mine. I feel we have ostracised ~5% of our population that have contributed so much to and for our country. I love the multiple cultures within our society, all their different ethics and beliefs. Learning about these things has made me a person that I am extremely proud of. The Country is something I am, for now, genuinely ashamed of… our Kingdom appears divided, Scotland wants independence and has been given fuel to ascertain a new referendum (personally I am sick of the word). Northern Ireland has been reported as to be looking into uniting with the Republic of Ireland, who have historically been rivals. By the end we could just be England and Wales; whilst there will be a United Ireland and Independent Scotland.

I am worried because the economy will take a hit, the Pound Sterling (£) has already plummeted to lows not seen since before my lifetime. The Prime Minister resigned; someone who I have despised since his rise to power, but now worry because he was the lesser of the potential evils that can now rise unelected. I am also angry because people ignored independent experts on the economy who said the exit would lead to £20-40 billion of damages. “Scaremongering” were the claims, THESE were both INDEPENDENT and EXPERTS! This is the economic equivalent of Doctors and Consultants within the health service. If a Doctor or Consultant stated that you have cancer or some other life-threatening disease, are you just going to write that off as ‘scaremongering’? Why have we all been so ignorant to overlook the experts through this? It’s not just one expert but an overwhelming majority of experts (oh, and did I mention, that they were independent?). it’s left me baffled and confused.

Yes, Leave won 51.9% to 48.1% where the majority of the educated and youth (under 30 years old) were on the losing side. I have seen the youth being patronised, labelled as naive. The educated being listed as classist and pretentious… Why are we so intent to draw differences and tarnish everyone with the same brush! Not only that, most of these people are going to be pivotal to the rebuilding of this country and the future of it, like it or not. It is also important to note that these two groups of the population are the most likely to be granted a visa to other countries, allowing them to contribute to other economies as migrants. Please, not allowing them to grieve for their beliefs and futures, telling them to get over it, just 1 day after the result could lead to a build up of resentment and is essentially just pushing them to leave.

Maybe I am feeling irrational and melodramatic, but it is what I am feeling. Please be respectful of this. Just like I respect that some are feeling euphoric and proud.

Goodbye, Great Britain… and goodbye Europe, we’ve been great comrades and the past has been a blast. Now it’s time to become Britain, and build a new future…