Are you considering voting in the upcoming General Election? Not sure who to vote for? Totally uninterested? If the answer is 'yes' to any of the above, then you should take a look at this handy slideshow!

1. UK General Election
2017
Students’ quick guide
FOUNDATION SCHOOL

2. Outline
 Brief introduction and Background
 The main parties – people, policies and criticisms
 Conservative (Tory)
 Labour
 Liberal Democrats (Lib Dem)
 Other official parties
 Conclusion and Questions

3. Objective
 Inform you about the election and your choices
 Motivate you to vote / register and vote
 Answer any questions
In the 2015 general election,
only 58% of young people (18-24) voted.
For those aged 65+,it was 75%.

4. Snap election – Snap quiz!
Who are these people, and what do you know about them?
Tim Farron, Liberal Democrats leader
Caroline Lucas, Green Party co-leader
Paul Nuttall, UKIP leader
Theresa May, Conservative leader Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish National Party Jeremy Corbyn, Labour leader

5. Myth-busting
 I’m not political.
 They’re all the same. / They’re just liars.
 It won’t make a difference.
 I don’t like any of them.
 Everyone is political: values, opinions, priorities
 The majority try to do what they think is right.
 That’s what some might want you to think!
(Think of any big social change: women’s rights, racial segregation, gay marriage)
 Then vote for the least bad option, otherwise you’ll have no right to
complain later!

6. General Election 2017 – the basics
 Why are we having one now?
 Prime Minister May: help with EU-UK negotiations over Brexit
 Critics: exploiting the recent 20% lead in the polls – more MPs, more power?
 Thursday 8th June, any time 7am – 10pm
 Register to vote by Mon 22nd May – can be home or term-time address
 Which is best? See http://ge2017.com/students
 Vote can be in person, by post or by proxy (someone else does it for you)

7. Conservative Party (Tory)
 Current situation:
 The UK’s Government since 2015 (was in coalition with Lib Dems 2010-15)
 330 / 650 MPs in Parliament  narrow majority
 Key people
 Theresa May – current Party Leader and Prime Minister (used to be David Cameron)
 Philip Hammond – Chancellor of the Exchequer (used to be George Osborne)
 Boris Johnson – Foreign Secretary
 Justine Greening – Education Secretary
 General politics / principles:
 Centre-right / Right
 Supports free-market capitalism
 Strong national defence
 Reducing national debt
 Restrictions on trade / workers’ unions

8. Conservative Party – for/against
 Key policies at the moment:
 Large focus on Brexit  negotiating a good deal with Brussels
 Plans to leave the EU and Single Market (‘Hard Brexit’) whatever happens with negotiations
 Imposing a cap on energy bills
 More grammar schools
 Reduce immigration
 ‘Strong and stable leadership’
 Critics say:
 Hard Brexit will damage the economy and lead to job losses
 Even higher university tuition fees in the future
 More austerity / cuts in schools, health and public services
 NHS crisis will deepen, moving towards a USA-style system that excludes poor people
 More inequality and poverty in society

9. Labour Party
 Current situation:
 The Opposition in Parliament (tries to hold the Government to account)
 229 / 650 MPs (101 fewer than the Conservatives)
 Key people:
 Jeremy Corbyn – current Party Leader and Leader of the Opposition (was Ed Milliband)
 Tom Watson – Deputy Leader
 John McDonnell – Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
 Angela Rayner – Shadow Education Secretary
 General politics / principles:
 Centre-left / Left
 Supports democratic socialism
 Protecting workers’ rights / Supports trade unions
 More tax-funded investment in public services

10. Labour Party – for/against
 Key policies at the moment:
 Lesser focus on Brexit – more about other current problems in the country
 Plans to leave the EU but not Single Market (‘Soft Brexit’) – protecting EU rights for Brits and
EU residents in the UK
 Scrap university tuition fees
 Increase NHS funding to end the crisis
 Continue with Trident (nuclear defence programme)
 Bring rail, energy and postal service back into public ownership
 Critics say:
 We can’t afford to spend such huge amounts of money
 Taxing big corporations to fund their policies will scare away business and enterprise
 Jeremy Corbyn and prominent Labour figures lack credibility
 Labour are going back to the 1970s when workers’ unions had too much influence

11. Liberal Democrats (Lib Dem)
 Current situation:
 Only 9 MPs in Parliament (down from 57 in 2010-15)
 Formed a coalition government with Conservatives 2010-15
 People:
 Tim Farron – current Party Leader (used to be Nick Clegg)
 Key policies:
 Anti-Brexit – want a referendum on the final Brexit deal (either ‘Yes’ or ‘Remain’)
 1p increase in income tax – fund the NHS
 New, proportional voting system (end ‘First Past The Post’)
 Support a regulated cannabis market
 Reverse cuts in Universal Credit (out of work benefits)
 Main criticisms:
 Brexit stance anti-democratic
 Lost trust after voting for tuition fee rises when in coalition

12. Other political parties
Not always an option where you live
 Green Party https://www.greenparty.org.uk/election-priorities.html
 UKIP http://www.ukip.org/
 Women’s Equality Party
https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/womensequality/pages/279/attachments/original/1487934933/WEP_policy_document_2017.pdf?1487934933
 Plaid Cymru (Wales) http://www2.plaid.cymru/
 Democratic Unionist (Northern Ireland) http://www.mydup.com/
 Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland) http://www.sinnfein.ie/
 Scottish National Party (SNP) (Scotland) https://www.snp.org/

13. Conclusion
Vote!
(whoever and for whatever reason)
Get your friends to vote too!

14. Any Questions?

15. Further information
 Register to vote: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
 BBC General Election guide: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39631768
 Automated political quiz: http://www.whoshouldyouvotefor.com/index.php
 (Bigger one: https://uk.isidewith.com/political-quiz)
 Article on young voters: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/apr/30/young-must-
vote-general-election-8-june
 Video from League of Young Voters: http://www.leagueofyoungvoters.co.uk/
 Why vote? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFpCNhHA4Mk
 Watch televised debates.
 Google the parties’ manifestos when they are published this week.