Three good reasons why you should vote!

1. The more young people who vote, the more likely politicians will make policies that benefit us.

Just 45% of people aged 18-24 voted in 2010, compared to 88% of people aged 65+ and 84% of those aged 55-64. It’s well-known that pensioners get a pretty good deal – free bus passes and winter fuel allowance, for instance. The fuel allowance pays between £100-£300 each year, tax-free, and it’s not even means-tested! Pensions are ‘triple-locked’, which means they rise with inflation, average earnings or a minimum of 2.5% a year. During George Osbourne’s 2014 Budget speech, ‘pension’ or ‘pensioners’ was mentioned 30 times. ‘Young people’ was said just once. The political system we have means that people in power have a big incentive to keep pensioners happy, because if they don’t they lose votes! So, in theory, if more young people vote the better chance we have of securing policies that favour us.

In Kingston, there are over 23,000 students at Kingston University, the Business School and the College, plus over 2,000 6th form students who are all close to being eligible to vote. Think what a difference young people could make…

2. Young people not voting could make us worse off.

UKIP are polling well at the moment and there is a growing unease over our involvement in the European Union, even among the Conservatives. If there’s ever been a good time to vote, then 2015 will be it. Leaving the EU could threaten up to 3 million jobs that are connected to the single market, and this could be devastating for young people who are already suffering with high unemployment that’s nearly three times bigger than the national average. We are the future workers of this country and leaving the EU would seriously harm our ambitions.

3. If you want change, your first duty is to vote.

“They’re all as bad as each other” … “What’s the point? They all break promises”. These are common complaints of our politicians. But really, if you want to make a difference, you need to vote. Not voting makes people think you don’t care and they won’t address your concerns.

4. More people on the electoral register leads to more local funding!

Funds given from central government to local authorities are based on the number of people on the electoral register, not the number of residents. Therefore, greater numbers of young people voting could raise funds for local services, including youth and education provision.

This TED video by Rick Edwards outlines a few ways young people could be better represented, incentivised to vote, and methods to improve information about political parties. These include ‘none of the above’ parties on voting ballots, voting online instead of at polling stations, and setting up voting advice applications (VAAs) which help people decide which party is best for them.