Student-run Just Vote campaign kicks off

Only 54 percent of students at Warwick turned out to vote in last year’s elections. A new campaign run by students at the university – called ‘Just Vote’ – aims to change this trend.

The event, which is run by the Warwick Politics Society and headed up by Carl Andrew, has been taking place all over campus and has included asking members of the student community to write suggestions for their local MPs on whiteboards. Fake ballot boxes have also been placed all over the university grounds into which students can post any questions they might have on how the British political system is run and how the upcoming general election will effect them.

The Boar spoke to a first year Film and Literature student who said, “The idea is all well and good but I quite simply don’t have a clue how to register to vote.” The campaign will help to alleviate this problem and lack of knowledge with its main push to get students voting, which consists of ‘registration stations’. These positions will be set up in the Piazza on central campus every Wednesday and will help students to find all the information they need in order to register for the forthcoming election.

An official launch event was held last Friday and was attended by a number of MPs from the surrounding area. Organiser Carl Andrew told the Boar that he hoped the campaign would increase turn out across the student body and make young people more politically engaged. He said, “Although the operation is still very much in its infancy, the reaction so far has been massively positive and we’ve had lots of backing from large organisations such as Civitas and from MPs like Nick Clegg. We also signed up 57 people at out registration station last week – Coventry city council only managed to get 2 people to register. It’s all going really well.”

Speakers at the event included the Conservative MP from Kenilworth and Southam, Jeremy Wright, and Nigel Rock, Liberal Democrat candidate who told the audience that “the electoral system cannot carry on as it is now.” James Plaskitt – MP for Leamington Spa – and Alan Bennett, Liberal Democrat candidate were not available to attend and so sent video messages in their places. Bennett told the attendees that voting was hugely important, saying, “It’s your vote, it’s your say, it’s your government.”

Also in attendance were Chris White, the Conservative candidate for Warwick and Leamington Spa, Jim Cunningham, Labour MP for Coventry South and Kevin Foster, prospective Conservative candidate for the same constituency who told the spectators that “deciding you’re not interested in politics is just not an option” and urged students to stay in the Coventry area after their degrees. Brian Patton of the Liberal Democrats said, “Politics is everything but I don’t call myself a politician because I like to tell the truth and never lie.”

A second year history and sociology student attending the event said, “It seems that young people’s voices are so rarely heard and so this kind of event is really very important. I think you should always vote if you have an opinion. This evening’s been great.”

Outgoing Students’ Union president Andrew Bradley has also shown his support for the event, telling the Boar that, “I absolutely love JustVote. It’s amazing. The campaign has the Union’s full backing and it is an absolutely fabulous thing for students to take part in. I love it.”