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2. General election assembly
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3. Why are we learning about this?
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General elections are hugely important. They give adults (and one day you) the chance to decide who rules the country. Yet still lots of people don’t make the effort to vote! Only 43% of young people (18-24 year olds) voted in the last election.
On Tuesday 18th April, the Prime Minister Theresa May announced that there will be a general election on Thursday 8th June, three years before it was supposed to happen.
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2- iStock Images
References
1- BBC News video
Notes
* - Every adult excluding non-British citizens, prisoners and some severely mentally handicapped citizens
Ask your neighbour:
Why do you think people don’t vote?
Ask your neighbour:
What is a general election?
A general election is the chance for every adult to vote for who they want to run the country*. They cast a single vote for one of the political parties in the UK. It usually happens every five years.
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4. Politics has nothing to do with me…
A lot of people think politics is boring and sometimes it is (click the image to spot the snoozer!). However, it can be exciting and will always affect things in your life that matter. Most importantly, if you understand politics, you can change things yourself.
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Ask your neighbour..
Which of these parts of your life do you think the government has affected in the past year?
Getting a part-time or summer job in somewhere like Starbucks or WH Smiths
What you learn about in school
What you can do/see on the internet
Getting your first car
Whether or not you can vote
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Career choices after secondary school
What nutrients you get from eating bread
All of these parts of life have been/are being changed by government this year. The minimum wage has been raised so you earn more in basic jobs, car tax has gone up so your first car could be more expensive and football tickets are being made cheaper for young people.
The cost of a ticket for a football match
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5. Let’s see who picked the right one…
Who’s standing at this election?
Quickly
Have a look at the money bags. Discuss together and vote for which bag has more money in it. 1 2
Let’s see who picked the right one…
Democracy can be like that. If you vote in an election for the next government, but you don’t know anything about them or the other parties, you are just gambling with your future. Democracy works much better when people learn about what they are voting on.
£10
£50,000
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*The majority of countries in the world now have some form of democracy. However, there is a Democracy Index which assess the extent to which democracies are open and stable. The UK is a ‘full democracy’; a stable, long-standing, open democracy. Many nations have flawed or partial democracies. See –
** See link for exact details on restrictions on voting -
That was a pretty rubbish debate. It was more like gambling if you think about it. You just had to guess randomly which bag might be the best for you!
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6. Who’s standing at this election
Who’s standing at this election? These are the main parties standing across the UK
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*The majority of countries in the world now have some form of democracy. However, there is a Democracy Index which assess the extent to which democracies are open and stable. The UK is a ‘full democracy’; a stable, long-standing, open democracy. Many nations have flawed or partial democracies. See –
** See link for exact details on restrictions on voting -
(There are other parties such as the SNP, but they can only be elected in parts of the UK)
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7. Quick quiz: work with your neighbour, speed read and find out
Which party wants to stop giving money to poorer countries?
Which party wants 16 and 17 year olds to be able to vote?
Which party cares the most about the environment?
Which party wants to bring in three new bank holidays?
Which party wants to focus on spending less on services to keep our debt down?
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*The majority of countries in the world now have some form of democracy. However, there is a Democracy Index which assess the extent to which democracies are open and stable. The UK is a ‘full democracy’; a stable, long-standing, open democracy. Many nations have flawed or partial democracies. See –
** See link for exact details on restrictions on voting -
©VotesForSchools2016

8. The Conservatives are the government at the moment
The Conservatives are the government at the moment. They want the UK to leave the EU and put the priority on reducing people coming into the country. They have a plan to keep the NHS, schools, the police on smaller budgets because they want to keep the UK’s economy from having any problems
The Green party’s main concern is to protect the environment: they want to keep global temperature rise under 2 degrees, phase out nuclear and carbon energy and have a zero emission economy.
UKIP became a party to try and convince us to leave the European Union. So they have almost already won! However they want to focus on stopping people coming into the country and they want us to stop sending money to other countries.
The Liberal Democrats have made it clear that they are against Brexit and want to stay in the European Union. They also want to change the voting system so you would vote as a country and not as small areas. They want to allow 16 and 17 year olds to vote.
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Notes
* - Every adult excluding non-British citizens, prisoners and some severely mentally handicapped citizens
The Labour party support Brexit and say if they were elected, we would still leave the European Union. Labour wants to tax rich people more, tax companies more, put more money into the NHS and put more money into schools and the police. These are their priorities. They also want to introduce three more bank holidays each year.
©VotesForSchools2017
©VotesForSchools2017

9. Quick quiz: were you right?
Which party wants to stop giving money to poorer countries?
Which party wants 16 and 17 year olds to be able to vote?
Which party cares the most about the environment?
Which party wants to bring in three new bank holidays?
Which party wants to focus on spending less on services to keep our debt down?
Image Sources 1- 2- 3- 4-
*The majority of countries in the world now have some form of democracy. However, there is a Democracy Index which assess the extent to which democracies are open and stable. The UK is a ‘full democracy’; a stable, long-standing, open democracy. Many nations have flawed or partial democracies. See –
** See link for exact details on restrictions on voting -
©VotesForSchools2016

10. The media and the election
Ask your neighbour:
Do you think newspapers, the television and the internet are honest and fair to the parties?
While most journalists do try to report the news honestly and give people a fair chance, it is worth remembering that they want one of the parties to win the election. When you read a headline or watch the news on TV, always question whether you think the journalist is being fair and telling the whole truth
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11. Election day
On Thursday 8th June people who have registered can vote for the local MP for their area.
The candidate who wins the most votes wins the ‘Seat’ and becomes their Member of Parliament. He or She will represent them in the House of Commons.
The party with the most seats forms the government, with the leader of that Party becoming Prime Minister.
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©VotesForSchools2017

12. How to vote: casting your vote
Which of these are the best reasons to vote for a party in an election?
Other people often vote for the party they think is the nicest, or the party full of people from the same background as they are
You can also vote for the party that has policies and ideas that you think are the best. This takes a bit more work to figure out
In general elections, some people vote for the leader who they think is the most interesting or most confident
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It sounds boring, but it is important to vote for the party who you think has the best policies, because these will impact on your life over the following years.
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13. Can’t vote? Talk to someone who can!
Home idea
Call to Action!
Can’t vote? Talk to someone who can!
These elections are important for your education, your health and your future!
Why don’t you talk to your parents about what you care about and ask if you can help them choose who to vote for!
Find out more!
If you want to know more about who is going to be elected as your MP, ask your school to see if they can bring the candidates into school to talk to all of you
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2- iStock images
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School idea
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14. This pack was put together by the team at VotesforSchools
This pack was put together by the team at VotesforSchools. If you want to keep debating and have your voice heard, join the VotesforSchools programme!
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