Politics

• Another reason we should vote is because in many countries around the world citizens are denied the right to vote
• If you do not vote, you disrespect others who are denied this right
• In Britain citizens can vote for people to represent their views such as councilors, MPs and MSPs
• In Saudi Arabia the leader of the country is an unelected king and political parties are banned
• In North Korea citizens can vote but there is only really one choice of political party to vote for, the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland
• Most commentators would argue that having only one choice defeats the point of voting
• Another reason to vote is even if you do not support any candidate you should still turn up and spoil your ballot paper
• Spoiling your ballot paper will show that you are unhappy with the choices available to you
• Protest votes will be included in news reports and national results
• A ballot paper recovered in the 2019 General Election stated "All of the parties are full of false promises. I don't believe or trust any of them."
• People have protested and made sacrifices so that we have the right to vote
• The Suffragette movement campaigned throughout the early part of the 20th Century for female frage and women today should vote as a sign of duty and respect for these campagnes
• Decisions are made by those who turn up and if you don't vote you risk of decisions being made by a minority of people in society
• Voting in elections is your chance to have your say and happens only once in every few years
• If you don't vote you are not morally represented in Parliament
• In 2019, the turnout for Glasgow North East Constituency was only 55%
• Many people chose not to vote in referendums as they don't see any change to their life
• In the 2019 general election in the UK 36% of voters did not vote
• People do not vote due to lack of trust in MP's. Voters believe that MP's are out of touch with the lives of ordinary people and as a result of scandals such as Partygate, the public lose faith in democracy
• The ongoing inquiry into the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic in Scottish and UK governments has negatively impacted the trust of key politicians, such as former PM Boris Johnson being at the centre of the "partygate" scandal Nicola Sturgeon allegedly deleting WhatsApp messages to others about the Scottish response to Covid
• People in safe seats see the same party winning every election, so do not see any point in voting as the same party always wins
• This growth in safe seats and decline in marginal seats has meant that many voters are switched off from voting as little campaigning takes place in their constituency
• It is estimated that about 90 marginal seats are crucial to deciding the election-about 31% of voters
• In 2019 there were 57 votes between the top two candidates in Fermanagh and South Tyrone
• Individuals can campaign during General Elections by

  1. Putting up posters and banners

  2. Handing out leaflets

  3. Canvassing voters

  4. Using new media
• Parties can put up posters in their windows or have banners or bumper stickers on their cars to show local people who the MP is and what they look like, and what party they are a member of
• In 2019 the Conservatives had the slogan "Get Brexit Done" on campaign posters
• MP David Mundell spent £14,700 to post 42,000 leaflets in March 2015 to keep his seat
• According to official 2019 Labour Party material, canvassing serves as a valuable purpose because "we ask people how they might vote so we know who our supporters are, then send them targeted material and remind them to vote on election day"
• New media includes social media sites such as Snapchat, Facebook or Twitter as well as political blogs like Wings over Scotland or Conservative Home
• In 2017 #Votelabour was one of the top trending hashtags before the election, and Labour party coverage on Twitter was three times higher than the Conservatives
• Political parties use the media during election campaigns to gain support and attract more voters
• The SNP connects with potential voters through Twitter and has 337,000 followers as of Jan 2004 who see regular messages posted from the party
• A large majority of young people are active on social media platforms, so this is a good way for parties to communicate with young people and try to attract their support
• In 2017 #voteLabour was one of the top trending hashtags before the election, and Labour party coverage on Twitter was three times higher than the Conservatives
• Political parties still work very hard to get the stories they want in the most popular newspapers, as newspapers still set the political agenda that is followed up by TV and new media
• The support of The Sun is still seen as being very important for politicians
• In 2017 a YouGov survey showed 52% of Sun readers did not even vote, which shows the Sun's ability to win elections single handedly is over exaggerated
• Over 50% of the population gets its political information from the BBC
• In the UK, the most widely read 'popular newspapers are the Sun and the Daily Mail