Labour Students #amillionmorevoices Campaign – 15 March 2017 

Today I joined Labour Students in Parliament to support their priority #amillionmorevoices campaign. 

Labour Students are urging the Government to introduce automatic voter registration in all higher education institutions across the country. 

Following the Governments shambolic introduction of ‘individual voter registration’ last year, some estimate that up to a million people will have fallen off the electoral register since its implementation. With three University campuses here in Cardiff Central, I have seen first-hand the result of this botched plan. 

Those falling off the electoral register are often the most vulnerable: they are private renters, people from BAME communities, the unemployed and lower-paid manual workers. But perhaps the greatest divide is between the older and the younger generation. Some 95% of over-65s are on the electoral register, yet the proportion of 18 to 24-year-olds is just 70%. 

Last June’s EU Referendum was a stark reminder that young people’s voices need to be heard, and Labour Students are working on university and college campuses up and down the country to break down democratic barriers and ensure voter registration is integrated with enrolment when a student starts higher education. 

Don’t forget – the deadline to register to vote for May’s local elections is April 13th. 

You can register to vote online by following this link - https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote  

http://www.jostevens.co.uk/labour_students_amillionmorevoices_campaign 

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