Preparing for the General Election

The General Election has been announced for 4th July 2024, and what a shock that was! There have been so many suggestions as to why it was called so early: the economy is seemingly recovering (although we’re still only recording a 0.6% growth – not exactly impressive), the Conservatives have passed their landmark Rwanda Bill through parliament, the  more cynical suggestion of ‘it’s been called now as it’s likely to only get worse’, or my personal favourite, ‘if Rishi loses he’ll still have time to enrol his students in a Californian school for the start of term.’

Whatever the reason, it’s not long until polling day. And there are some things that you need to do in preparation.

Step 1:

The first step in preparation for this is to register to vote, if you haven’t already. You need to be on the electoral roll. You can do this by clicking here – and you must do this by 18th June to be able to vote in this election.

(A word of warning – you need to do this again if you move house!  I didn’t realise this and lost my vote in 2017, it was a bad day!)

Step 2:

Next, you need ID (you can thank the Conservative Election Bill for this.) You need to take it to the polling station with you, and it has to be a specific type to be valid. You can check what type of ID you need here

Don’t have the right type? Don’t worry – you can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate which still allows you to vote. You need to be organised though, as the deadline for this is 26th June. You can register for this here.

Step 3:

Manifestos – it’s really a good idea to read them. The purpose of a manifesto is for political parties to set out their intentions for governance. The things that they would like to achieve if they get in to power. They are elected based on their manifesto promises and held accountable on these things. As an example, alongside the ‘Get Brexit Done’ promise, the Conservatives pledged in 2019 to:

·       Increase the number of nurses by 50,000 and police by 20,000

·       Ensure there was no income tax, VAT or National Insurance rises

·       Reach Net Zero by 2050

·       Introduce a points based immigration system

·       Extend HS2 to create a new Manchester to Leeds rail line

And there are others – (an analysis of this will feature in my next blog post, as well as a roundup of this years manifesto promises!)

The point being, you should use your vote to indicate your choice – what changes would you like to see in your society?  

Young people (aged between 18-24) typically are least likely to vote. In 2019, only 54% of those eligible voted, the lowest of any age bracket, which is devastating.

Contribute to a reduction in political apathy amongst young people, demand your government is held accountable for the promises that they make you and vote for the changes you want to see.