As we enter the beginning of 2015 and a general election year in the UK, we have the chance throughout the next five months to decide how to make a difference to our lives and this great nation. Over those five months, we’ll all be hearing plenty of promises, information and arguments from all sides on why we should vote for X party and why we shouldn’t vote for Y party.
It’s an exciting time especially if you are as much as a politics geek as I am but I am aware that I am in the minority a lot of the time. But if the past 5 years have taught me and hopefully the rest of us anything it is that this election is very important for the UK and we really need to make sure we use our vote come polling time.
Hardly anyone voted in 2010, leaving us with a coalition which quite frankly no-one in their right mind would have voted for. Since then many from the poor to the most needy in society have felt the effects of this coalition and not in a good way, it is something that is starting to sway more and more people to vote this coming May.
But what exactly are the parties doing and what should they be doing to gain those crucial votes and get those disillusioned to cast a vote for once? The key to success is all about differentiation. Making sure that we know which party is which and exactly where they stand not this middle ground message we have been fed from the 3 main parties over the last few years, that is most certainly not going to work anymore.
What made politics so exciting back in the 80’s was that there was a huge difference between Conservative and Labour and whoever came into power could genuinely affect your life massively. But over the last 10 years politics has become boring, stagnant and full of the same message from every side.
Politicians never fully commit to anything from opinions to policies to apologies, something which is so commonplace in today’s politics where politicians apologise for absolutely everything. That is exactly why UKIP are so popular because they say what they believe in, what they would do if they were in power and for the most part they stick to their guns.
That is also why, self titled political reformer, Russell Brand is also so popular too. His Question Time slot opposite Nigel Farage proved so popular and finally started a much needed debate about the state of today’s society and politics. Whether you agree with their opinions or not, conversations and differentiation is what is needed right now.
If Labour really want to win this upcoming election, that they should win hands down, then they need different strategies, new ideas and they need to go back to their own left field, for the everyday person, politics.
These are things that are happening at the lower levels with MP’s and candidates making proposals for real change in their areas throughout the country. A local example for me personally would be Labour candidate Oliver Coppard who is running for Nick Clegg’s Sheffield Hallam seat.
He has spent the past few years tirelessly campaigning against the Tory/Lib Dem cuts that have affected so many areas of Sheffield for the worse. He campaigned for the Forge Masters loan which would have brought so much through jobs and growth to our city, it was unfortunately rejected and one of those against it was Nick Clegg. And also he is very visible presence on Twitter, becoming a spokesperson on there as well as around Sheffield. It is something more politicians should and need to be doing to reach all areas of society and especially to try and get younger people who less likely to vote to become engaged in politics.
The fact that the lower level MP’s are spending so much time working around their communities and making their opinions known is something that needs to be echoed at the higher ranks of all the parties. They are starting to try and make some stances but as the election date rolls ever closer is it too little too late? Let’s just hope each party has something great up their sleeves for the coming months.