In 2010 I voted for the first time. I saw that the two main parties had nothing to offer me. Everything the Tory party offered was worrying, even scary, and Labour seemed to have no clue what they were doing, with poor old Gordon. I think, for an 18 year old, this was a pretty fair evaluation. So I voted for the Lib Dems. I wanted to make my vote count, but I wasn't happy with the two main parties. One of their main policies was something that appealed to me, being as I was about to start uni; the scrapping of tuition fees. Plus, Nick Clegg seemed to be a pretty good leader.
When the results came in, I couldn't believe the party I had voted for actually had a huge say in who won the election. I was sure they would go with Labour. That was what their voters would have picked, if they had the choice, surely? Yet they went with the Conservatives, that was greatly under-representative of their voters. And as the coalition Government has progressed, not a single policy that I voted for has been represented. It seems that at the first whiff of power, Nick Clegg has sold himself out.
What is the point in my vote, if the party doesn't even stay true to their word?
In Russell Brand's recent interview with Paxman, he has raised a very important issue. What is the point in plowing through with a system that doesn't work? We need change. If we don't make this change, things are going to get worse. Something radical, like really massively radical, needs to be done. A boycott of the vote could be a start, but could also lead to something quite dangerous too, if not enough people participate.
What we need to do is act, in numbers. Huge numbers that represent us, huge numbers that they cannot ignore. We need to look past the uneducated political propaganda that we are being served. The constant lies about 'scroungers' and 'layabouts' are turning us against ourselves, to prevent us from sticking together. We can't keep being blinded by these small gestures of 'good will' to keep us all happy, such as equity loans for first time buyers. It isn't good enough. There needs to be a complete overhaul in the way things are done, and none of the three main political parties can offer us that.
People turn out in force to vote for the winner of the X Factor, Strictly Come Dancing and I'm a Celeb. We can use that power to do something good, that will benefit the lives of our future generations. It won't be easy, but we have to starting fighting, for ourselves and each other.
