Why You Should Vote Liberal Democrat

by Adam Blunden

If you’ve already made your mind up about who you’re going to vote for in this mock election, just make sure you've heard all the candidates, and whether a party of fairness may be better than a party of extremes.

The current Sixth Form was a safe Conservative seat back in 2010. Times have changed, and I believe that any single candidate could make a good enough case to win the most likely swing seat- the Sixth Form.

Be absorbed by the media and you’ll not have a very good opinion of the Liberal Democrats, not least from the almost-militant NUS in its campaigns, calling our MPs liars and hypocrites when we were unable to bring all of our promises to fruition. For that’s where I want to start- since it’s the most obvious, and the vast majority of the Sixth Form will be heading into so-called ‘£40,000 of debt’.

Being the minority in a coalition government, with a party with some views that do not agree with your own, is likely to mean compromises have to be made, including in raising the cap on tuition fees. In government we had to stand by this- at the time it represented the very best deal we were able to achieve for students, in a system where the student loan doesn’t act as a normal item of debt- more like a graduate tax, although some other candidates (and their leaders, judging by a recent interview with a young, local, right-leaning caller on Radio 4’s World at One) would seem to think not. (If you’d like to learn more about the finance, I’d recommend Martin Lewis’ MoneySavingExpert.com)

In reality our focus remains the same, ensuring quality, affordable education from cradle to college, as well our other key priorities in maintaining a fairer society that promotes a stronger economy. If you find yourself torn between opposing views and quite obviously a ‘floating voter’, then consider our policies as well, such as full border checks, helping to improve sustainability and reduce the impacts of climate change, building key infrastructure projects such as HS2, giving free school meals to all primary school pupils, increasing the NHS budget every year in real terms, and guaranteeing to get rid of the budget deficit before 2020.  We are likely to be the party with the best chance of being involved with a coalition government, since Labour’s rejection of the SNP. Our leader, Nick Clegg, remains the only leader to show himself as a genuine person, appearing weekly on LBC’s radio phone-in, and having now made two appearances on satirical news show The Last Leg.

In the last few days before this mock election, consider what you want to see on May 7th.  Granted, many of you may be revising, but do you really want to see another dull Conservative landslide as we did in the Middle School 5 years ago? In a coalition, the Liberal Democrats promise to give a heart to Conservatory Cuts, protecting the poorest in society from Osborne’s axe, as well as making sure Labour’s Lavishness is responsible and not putting the economy at risk. It would be even better if you voted Liberal Democrats outright- we want to use our values to appeal to as many people as possible across the PGS spectrum.

On May 7th, if you look left to uncontrolled spending, if you look right to crazed cuts, then

vote for genuine hope and the chance for a fairer society and stronger economy for all;

vote for the chance to turn the PGS political spectrum on its head;

and vote Liberal Democrat.