Monday, the 22nd of May, is the last day you can register to vote in the General Election 2017. If you haven't registered yet.. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
As young people it is really easy to feel like your vote won't make a difference, but at the last General Election the turnout was 66.1%, which means that 33.9% of people did not vote. This means that the number of people who did not vote outnumbered the votes tallied by any one individual party. This shows how important voting is. You literally have the power to change the government simply by voting.
I have found some really interesting articles online about this, if you would like to read more. This article from the BBC, discusses that if there was a turnout of 78% of 18-24-year-olds, it would lead to an extra two million votes. This article, from the Telegraph, says that if the turnout of young people reached 60%, young people would have the power to swing 37 consituencies. And this article from the Metro talks about how young people need to vote as their opinion differs so much to that of old people.
If you are voting on the 8th of June (which you should be), please register TODAY!!!! and then Tweet/instagram/Facebook with the hashtag #NotThe33, to show that you are ready to vote and have your opinion be counted. I really think that we can all make a difference.
If you need help with choosing who to vote for then you can go to I Side With, which is a fantastic online resource (a kind of serious quiz) for helping you decide who to vote for based on their policies and your main priorities. You can also check out who you align with closest in other countries' elections as an added bonus.
I personally would also recommend checking out the Progressive Alliance website to help you vote tactically, if there is a political party you would like to prevent from taking your consituency seat. They also have a fantastic Twitter where you can ask for more information.
Leave a comment if any of this has helped you to make a final choice or you know who you are voting for! And most importantly......
p.s as seen in the above photo, even Coco votes and she can't even read.
