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Vote Talk
By Adam Pattison Rathbone
14 Apr 2010
The general election is fast approaching, and after missing out on the last one because I was too young, I'm looking forward to finally getting to have my vote. The problem is, exams are approaching and I don't quite know enough about each party to be able to say I want them to run the country, or enough time to find out. I'm basically relying on the press to tell me who to vote for, which doesnt settle with me either.
I keep telling everyone that it's important to vote, and we're lucky we get the ability too and we should fully exercise our rights etc but now I'm having issues with it myself. I mean it's fine and well being told that there is going to be changes to the Tax Credits System and Immigration and I might be able to vote for my neighbourhood bobby, but how is this going to effect me exactly? I don't claim benefits, I already live here and I can't decide who to vote for as my MP let alone any other official.
A couple of months ago, I had a bit of a gripe so I got in touch with the Mayor, who I didn't vote for, and had a coffee with him to talk through it, turns out my gripe was already being sorted. Even more recently I wrote to my MP about another issue, again, an official I didn't vote for, and he got back in touch and talked through the problem with me again, sadly he died soon after.
The point is, I didn't vote for these people and they were still perfectly capable at their jobs, so really what is the point of me voting? I'm sure the voting populus will select a perfectly good individual, and if I've got a problem he or she will help me sort it, regardless if I voted for them or not - it is their job after all.
Any "guidance" on voting would be appreciated, this does not include canvassing.
The blind leading the blind
I think your concerns are both justified and reflective towards the position of many first time voters. I myself have to make a difficult decision, based entirely on what I have heard or seen from numerous media reports, to decide which party I would like to see in power in my first general election vote.
I think the only guidance I could give you from 'being in the same boat' would be to read each individual parties manifesto, concentrating on which parts you see most imperative to your future; be it housing, career or health orientated.
The Conservative Party focus on NHS reforms, opening doors towards cancer treatments; however, as we have been educated in lectures over the years, they are largely not deemed cost effective or beneficial to introduce onto oncology formularies. The manifesto describes they are willing to scrap health care targets, making patient care more central to healthcare professionals, which seems to be a massive advantage.
The Liberal Democrats proclaim to set in place money saving schemes to better the NHS to protect front-line services, such as cancer treatment, mental and dementia health care, maternity services, and preventive medicine.
Don't forget that the Labour Party have introduced massive benefits to healthcare over the years. They wish to introduce legally binding guarantees for the right to cancer test results within one week of referral,
with a maximum treatment wait of 18 weeks. They also outlay a plan to increase patient's access to medicine via choosing which specialist you want to see, and having a GP with hours outside the normal 9-5.
I can only recommend that you carefully process which points matter most to you, and read the parties manifesto summaries. It's your vote, make it your own, and worth while.
Rob Mustard