Students from the Sixth Form at Seaford College are challenging the notion that the youth of today are apathetic towards politics. In the run up to the election, Seaford College will hold a Mock Election with a twist. The main parties will be represented but the audience will not know which party each candidate is representing.
Michael Laird
I believe we need to take charge of our deficit issue and focus our economic strategy on controlling the size of the deficit, and making sure the surplus is happening as soon as possible, rather than delaying it using other economic plans, such as the American strategy of spending more in order to create more influx. I also think that a stronger and more efficient NHS system is required, because we keep adding to the cost of it, and no real change is happening. We need to focus on a minimal management strategy to improve the efficiency and the quality of care for those who are in need.
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Hugo Dean
The main issue for the youth of today is the disassociation with the current mainstream parties. When young people come to vote, none of the parties represent what we are feeling about. I think this is represented by the poor turnout in the youth section of election voters.
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Chloe Gooding
I am most passionate about the issue of gender stereotypes that not only prevent men and women from getting the jobs they most want, but from people being able to express themselves in the way they most want to. I think it’s really important that men are able to express themselves, but women feel free to go into jobs that aren’t usually open to them in business, in creative areas, and in the community itself.
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Christian Disley-May
For me, as a young person, going on to university, I’d say that housing prices are quite an important issue. When students come out of university with a large debt to pay off, after fees that have been put up over the years, they’ve got to find somewhere to live. They move to London, where the work is and where the property prices are highest, and it’s going to be really hard for them to get on the property ladder.
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Ouli Jagne
I think the education about diversity in society is very lacking. We’ve got all these parties but they don’t actually represent our people as a whole. I feel very strongly about the fact that there isn’t a unity in England. There seems to be a lot of segregation around women, around LGBT communities, around people from different countries, and that is a major issue.
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Matthew Scott
I am passionate about the current job market. I think too many people my age are being forced to go into the university system because they think it’s the only thing that’s going to lead to jobs in the future. There are many other options they could explore that may be better for them, they may enjoy it more and end up with better job prospects for the future.
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Lucas Streeter
I believe taxation is an incredibly important issue for the government not only pre-election but post-election too. The correct level of taxation for income categories and for age groups is something we want to get right. For example, coming out of university, with a huge amount of debt, looking into buying your first house, racking up mortgages and loans, potentially borrowing from family members, your amount of taxation might not represent your situation at that moment. Also, high levels of taxation do discourage people from working in the UK. More people want to work abroad as there’s lower levels of taxation. Studying abroad, living abroad, working abroad is becoming a more popular option for people in the UK.
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The students will be voting on the basis of the policies rather than the party. This format is the brain child of Tony Phillips, who teaches History, Politics and Law at Seaford. Tony said: “For these students, it is the first time they will have the opportunity to vote and they are very excited. It is really interesting listening to young people and hearing the issues that are important to them, with seven weeks to go all parties still have time to attract this key group of voters. Our students are discussing very diverse issues in the run up to the election. I’m looking forward to seeing the outcome from the debate and to see who wins the mock election based on policies.”
