#ge2017
Just how big a difference did you make in GE2017?
This graphic, shared by @williamjordann, shows a significant disconnect between the intentions of young and old voters. We already knew that young voters overwhelmingly supported Remain in the Brexit referendum, and now a very similar trend is seen in the election results: the majority of young people voted for Labour.
We’re certainly not saying the hung parliament was entirely the result of increased youth turnout, but there’s no denying that we as an age group have suddenly moved up the priority lists of politicians everywhere. We mean something now. We’re an engaged group of voters with an almost universal political identity.
We’re a very big fish and, should Corbyn slip up, we’re seemingly ready to be caught.
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WHO WE ARE
In the wake of GE2017, we’ve picked up lots of new followers so we thought we’d give a quick run-down of what YVUK is all about.
We are a non-profit organisation working towards an informed electorate through education.
We live in an age where information on any topic is available with a few keystrokes, but where it’s increasingly difficult to know how much of that information is accurate. You only have to look at the front page of The Sun to see how much our news is being distorted daily.
Young Voters UK aims to present the political news in an unbiased way so that we as a generation understand our vote.
If this sounds like something you’d like to get involved with, we’d love to have you on our team! We are looking for volunteer writers, campaigners, graphic designers and researchers: for more information, email [email protected]
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There’s a lot of interest at the moment on who exactly these mysterious 10 MPs are that the Conservatives have teamed up with to get their majority. A lot of misinformation is spreading, so here’s a quick run-down of the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland.
- The DUP were established in 1971 by Ian Paisley, the leading figure for loyalism during the Troubles. Although he would later be instrumental in the peace process in Northern Ireland, in 1971 he was involved with paramilitary groups fighting to keep NI under British rule.
- Theyopposed the Good Friday Agreement due in party to the allowance for Sinn Fein to hold government. Other reasons included clauses for the early release of paramilitary political prisoners and lack of accountability of the Northern Ireland Executive and the North/South Ministerial Council.
- The majority of their support is in the North of Northern Ireland, with border constituencies voting in Sinn Fein MPs in the 2017 general election.
- Theirleader is Arlene Foster, who serves as the First Minister of Northern Ireland.
- Theyadvocate for the union of Northern Ireland with the UK. Arlene Foster said during the 2017 election campaign that she does not intend for NI to have a border poll (a referendum on reunification of Ireland) in her life-time.
- The DUP were at the centre of the Renewable Heating Incentives scandal. Arlene Foster, as Minister for the department in charge of the scheme, was heavily implicated. The poorly worded RHI scheme went over budget by £400m and the poor structure of the scheme made it prime fodder for fraudsters. Foster personally campaigned to keep the scheme open even after experts pointed out its flaws.
- In 1977 the DUP campaigned against the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Northern Ireland. They no longer follow this policy, although many DUP members still see homosexuality as a sin due to strong religious ties.
- In terms of Brexit, the DUP oppose a hard Irish borderandsupport a soft-Brexit.
- The DUP support triple-lock pensions and the Winter Fuel Allowance, in direct opposition to current Conservative policies.
- They have vetoed same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland since 2015, despite its legalisation in the rest of the UK and in the Republic.
- The DUP are strongly ‘pro-life’, and unanimously voted against a proposal by Labour to protect women from prosecution who abort their foetuses using pills bought online. Their stance on abortion also led to opposition to extra funding for international family planning programmes.
tl;dr The DUP are social (very) conservatives but will not support the Tories in every vote.
Who is Vince Cable?
With Tim Farron stepping down as leader of the Liberal Democrats, it’s time to look for a new leader. Enter: Vince Cable. Yes, the former Business Secretary from those heady coalition days is the first to throw his hat in the ring for Lib Dem leadership.
Which begs the question: exactlywho is Vince Cable?
For a lot of young voters, the 2010 General Election was lost to the stress of school exams and trips to the park with mum and dad. For Vince Cable, it provided a moment of glorious opportunity.
With the election resulting in a hung parliament (not unlike in 2017), the Lib Dems held the power. Cable was instrumental in the coalition agreement between the Lib Dems and the Conservatives. He was rewarded with the role of Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
It was a role he was more than prepared for. Cable studied Economics at Cambridge and earned a PhD in the subject from the University of Glasgow in 1973. He worked in both the public and private sectors before being elected as MP for Twickenham in 1997.
So was he a good Business Secretary?
Cable’s great error (because every top-level MP will have one) was the sale of the Royal Mail, which was considered a right royal cock-up by a lot of people. In the privatisation of the Royal Mail, Cable and his team were accused of undervaluing the company, setting share prices at 38p when within a year they were selling for 70p - this potentially lost the tax-payer billions of pounds.
He did try, at least in the beginning, to curb Tory policies. When it came to the Tory plan to sell laser-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia, Cable refused to sign off on the deal until he received assurance from the Ministry of Defence that the Saudis would not be allowed to use them on Yemeni civilians. It turned out the MoD were in no position to promise this, but the good intent was there.
It’s also important to highlight his attitudes to big banks: he’s not their biggest fan. Calling bankers a bigger threat to the UK than trade unions (the arch nemesis of the Tories), Cable consistently criticised banker bonuses after the 2008 crash as ‘rewards for failure’.
Too bad it didn’t hold him back from agreeing to 5 years of Conservative-determined austerity and pushing the £9000 uni fee cap through the House…
What do you think? There are many who think the Lib Dems would do better to distance themselves entirely from the vote-killer that was their coalition shambles, but who knows. Could this 74 year old Yorkshireman make a good leader?
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I hope you all went out and voted today for the party of your choice the most important thing to remember during elections is your right to democracy. Your vote counts no matter what constituency you’re in!
~Many small places do many small things that can alter the face of the world~
