As someone who has often struggled to keep up with politics (or at least fully understand it) I wanted to piece together an article explaining the general election 2015, what it means, what it could bring and outline the parties campaigns which would be easy to understand. Figures show that people are voting less and less. This could be down to the lack of education about politics in schools and colleges in the UK, or down to the publics distrust of politicians. The lowest turn out in terms of votes was 2001 – where only 59.4% of the UK population voted. In the last general election, 65.1% voted. The majority of voters are an average age of 65. And those aged 18-24, are the least likely to vote.
What is a general election?
A UK Parliament has a maximum duration of five years. Either before or at the end of the fifth year, a general election must take place so that new members of parliament can be elected by the public. A general election is called by the Prime Minister. The election of all Members of Parliament (MPs) for each constituency (local area) is called a General Election. In the UK we vote for the best candidate in our local area to represent us in the House of Commons. In the UK, the winning candidate in each constituency (town which is under local governing) becomes a MP and takes a seat in the House of Commons. The party with the majority of seats in the Commons gets to form the government and their leader becomes Prime Minister.
Why is a general election important?
There are hundreds of different reasons why politics and the general election are so important. Millions of different things which are affected by politics and the choice we make as a country when we each mark a cross next to our chosen party come polling day. People seem to have this idea that politics is about voting for a person – a figure, but it is so much more than that. Each party has numbers of campaign pledges and ideas about how the country should be run. Their idea’s and campaign pledges could change everything. The winning party will go on to make decisions about things such as how many new houses are built (affordable housing), how many new free schools are built, changes within the NHS, who pays tax and who doesn’t (people who earn over a certain amount per year), and so much more which affects our every day lives.
When is the general election?
Election day is taking place on Thursday, May the 7th. Polling stations open at 7am and close at 10pm.
Can I vote in the general election?
You can vote only if you are 18 years old or over, a British or qualifying Commonwealth citizen who has leave to remain in the UK (or does not require such leave) or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland or other European Union (EU) member state.
How do I figure out who I want to vote for?
You can find out what each parties policies or campaign pledges are by going to their websites, watching/reading the news or tuning in to the TV debates. These debates are a hugely important part when it comes to elections. This year, agreeing a debate has proven rather more difficult. However it looks as though David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg will hold a single debate on the 2nd of April. The leaders of UKIP, the Greens, the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru will also be taking part in the debate. These debates usually outline their ideas and hopes for the future should their party be elected in government.
There are four major parties in the UK at the moment and these are Conservative, Labour, Liberal and UKIP (UKIP are a new major party as ruled by Ofcom). Other more minor parties include: Green party, BNP, Christian party,Respect party, Liberal party, Socialist labour party, Official monster raving loony party, National front, Veritas, English democrats, National health action party, We demand a referendum, Independent network and Mebyon Kernow. In Scotland there is also the Scottish national party, Scottish green party, Scottish socialist party and Margo Mcdonald. In Wales there is the Plaid Cymru. In Northern Ireland there is the Democratic unionist party, Sinn Féin, Ulster Unionist Party, Social Democratic and Labour Party, Alliance party, The Workers Party & the Irish Republic Socialist Party (ISRP). Basically, there’s a lot of choice but most people tend to go for the major parties – hence the name.
A really good website which helps you look at each political parties hopes and aims in terms of their policies is www.voteforpolicies.org.uk – the website asks you a few questions about what you class as important and then takes you through the policies of each party on those topics without letting you know which party the policies belong to (so if you might be biased i.e. “my dad always votes labour” this helps to stop you from making decisions based on your subconscious thoughts about the parties).
How do I vote?
You can register to vote online – visit https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote but hurry as you can only do so until April 20th. Once you have registered, you can vote by post, by proxy or by visiting your nearest polling station. Your nearest polling station will normally be well advertised and is often held in odd buildings such as local halls, pubs, hairdressers!
I have voted, what now?
Now you will have to wait and find out the results the following day Friday the 8th of May when all of the polling results will have been counted and the media should announce who has been voted as the winning party. If no party is able to form a majority, this means we have what is called a hung parliament. This means that more than one party will be required to form a government. Hung parliaments are extremely rare, the UK has had one in 1974, and another in 2010 , when the Conservatives were the largest party but did not have enough MPs to form a majority. They teamed up with the Liberal Democrats and formed a coalition government. In case you weren’t aware this explains why David Cameron and Nick Clegg had to work together over the last five years.
**This is not one of my final pieces of work to be marked- I have written half a dozen news reports on topics and have chosen three reports which I will be submitting for my FYP. This is not one of them.**
Loosely defined 