Campaigning has begun in saltash.net community school’s mock general election. ‘vote.net’ will see students choosing their own election winner from amongst eight student candidates representing different political parties and independents.
The election, which will take place on May 6th on the eve of the UK general election, has been planned to be as much like the ‘real thing’ as possible, and will include hustings, opinion polls, poster campaigns and party political broadcasts as well as less traditional election elements such as twitter and political muffins.
Voting will also be organised like real life elections with an electoral register, polling clerks, voting booths and ballot boxes, and of course the thrills and tensions of an election count.
The election is being organised by Adam Killeya and Emma Metters, who between them make up the school’s Politics Department. Mr Killeya said, “By the next general election 80% of these students will be able to vote: we feel that it is really important for them to have a chance to experience it now, and learn why it is so important, so that they will engage with politics as adults.”
The full list of candidates is: Sally Bowman (Labour), Freddie Brasher (Mebyon Kernow.net), Nathan Croft (Liberal Democrats), Amy Donovan (Conservative), Charlie Hele (Independent), Ed Rule (Green), Ben Russell (UKIP) and the Supreme Chancellor of Bin Squirrels (Monster Raving Loony). The Supreme Chancellor is otherwise known as Alex Ferguson, a student currently in Year 11 at saltash.net.
Picture: Candidates and supporters in vote.net 2015, with Head of Politics Adam Killeya.