There is a General Election this year. It is on Thursday May 7th 2015. Put in your diary, make sure you are registered (https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote) and turn up to your polling station and vote. Vote. I care about this and I could spend a very long time trying to convince everybody which party to vote for, but at the moment all I care about is that everyone votes. And if you are a woman (which, let's face it, there may be more than a 50% chance if you're reading this) it's even more important.
Pip, my precociously intelligent princess has been wandering around the house saying "Ed Milliband" in various voices for the last few weeks. She likes the sound of it, more than many people would like the reality of it, and although she doesn't quite understand his job, she knows "He wants to be Prime Minister." That already puts her head and shoulders above approximately half of my sixth formers, one of whom, gazing at a picture of Nick Clegg displayed on the interactive white board asked; "Is that David Cameron?" She votes for the first time this year.
However, after an event organised by our sixth form team a few weeks' ago, she is now much better informed, and she cares, she even told me she would vote. They organised a "Question Time" style event with some of the local candidates and representatives of the main parties. For the students, the fact that anyone cared enough about this "stuff" was enough to ignite a very small pilot light. And it wasn't just that these people had turned up at the school, they got to hear some of their peers asking sensible, well-considered questions and they started to realise that politics wasn't just the shouty stuff at PMQs; it is wind farms and tuition fees and ooh did you know there used to be an EMA for 16 and 17 year olds? No, didn't think so.
I know people are disillusioned with politicians, but that should be giving us more motivation to vote, not less. We have a responsiblity to find out how to use that vote correctly on a national and local level. If you don't like the way things are done now then vote for a party that would change things. Liberal Democrats have pledged electoral reform although I'm not sure if they are still promising Proportional Representation. If you are worried something specific then look at the figures for your local area and make your vote count against the current MP - look for the candidate that would be most likely to remove him or her. Even if you can't remove your MP this time, putting a dent in an MP's majority changes the way that candidate is treated for selection next time, so may cause a change. Your vote can count.
Back to women voting though. Why is it so important? Not for the lecture, what these amazing women went through, the force feeding, the chaining to railings, although all of that counts, but because we have to make sure our voices are heard. 18 year olds also need to be heard but MPs don't always care about them, they haven't paid tax, they haven't earned the right. Parties and spin doctors know that most people who vote are old. Older than 18, older even than me. I love my parents, but we are worlds apart in our interests. My dad used to be a Labour voter and now seems to have moved so far to the right that he asked me not to talk to him last time, even though we have always had productive debates. At the moment the Houses of Parliament does not reflect the make up of the population and nor is it likely to unless we vote for change. While the only people voting are wealthy, or middle class, or male or old it is no wonder that they are the people who are being catered for, Become a voter and parties have to take account of what you say. Rick Edwards believes that 18 year olds should be made to vote at least the first time, but argues that if voting is compulsory then you need a "none of the above" option.(In his book; called None of the Above.) That could happen. There is a chance that things could change and it feels this time like it really might. Vote for change. Work out the best way of making it happen and vote for it. But vote.
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