How To Decide Who To Vote For & Tips For First-Time Voters
Undecided on who to vote for in the General Election? We’ve got what you need to make your decision.
The countdown is on to the genny lec and if you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the campaign messages from all different parties, you’re not the only one. While they’re all trying to sell their vision of the future to you, they generally only stick to a few talking points which can make it hard to know WHO is actually the stand-out candidate.
This has led to a lot of people still undecided on who to vote for. Recent data from Pion shows that 27% students don’t affiliate with any political party, so it’s clear they have some work to do.
Luckily, there’s a lot of easy to understand resources out there that can help you make your mind up when it comes to voting this Thursday. Polling stations are open from 7am to 10pm, and don’t forget your photo ID!
In this article:
- General Election manifestos 2024
- I don’t know who to vote for
- Follow the polls
- Tips for first-time voters
General Election manifestos from the main political parties
A good starting point to help cut through the media noise is to take a look at each party’s manifesto. They are incredibly detailed, so if you’re serious about working out the best party to vote for, then grab a glass of wine and check out what policies they have promised to deliver.
- Conservatives
- DUP (Northern Ireland only)
- Green Party
- Labour
- Liberal Democrats
- Plaid Cymru (Wales only)
- Reform UK
- SNP (Scotland only)
- Sinn Féin (Northern Ireland only)
We’ve only included the main parties likely to win seats, but check out your local constituency too as there are lots of independent or smaller party candidates that will also publish manifestos.
I don’t know who to vote for
… and to be honest, we don’t blame you. No party has a crystal clear path to success and there’s been scandals to last a lifetime. It’s incredibly important to vote and use your voice, but there’s other ways of deciding who will serve you, especially if you’re lacking a bit of inspiration.
Vote for Policies
If you want to find the best candidate to vote for based on the issues that matter to you, then Vote for Policies is a great tool that will help you do just that. Including topics important to students like education, housing and the environment, you select all the issues that are important to you and then answer questions in their survey. It’ll then tell you who the best party to vote for that aligns with your own values.
Who should you vote for?
If you’re after a more catch-all quick quiz, then Who Should You Vote For? is a short quiz with various political statements that you can agree or disagree with. It’ll then show you which parties are most aligned with your answers.
Tactical voting
Tactical voting is a way to get around the ‘first past the post’ electoral system that the UK follows. This basically means a party can win even with a minority vote share, as long as the rest of the votes are split between other parties. Tactical voting is when people vote for the party or candidate most likely to unseat the main opponent, even when it’s not necessarily the party they want to see in power.
Tactical voting is becoming more popular, with one in five voters saying they’re voting tactical in the General Election. But if you’re not keen on trying to figure out which party will be best-placed to oust the seat in your area, Tactical Voting has you covered. All you need to do is enter your postcode and it’ll tell you which party will be most likely to get rid of the sitting party.
Simple Politics
With all the jargon and political chat thrown about, it can make it hard to work out what’s going on. Simple Politics are there to break down a lot of the political party points and make them clearer to understand.
Follow the polls
Some of the largest and most popular polls are:
- YouGov
- Ipsos
- Opinium
- Electoral Calculus
It can be useful to follow the polls to see what voting indications are – especially if you’re thinking about tactical voting. They’re not foolproof, and have been known to be wrong in the past, but they’ll give you an idea of what’s going on.
Tips for first-time voters
If you’re voting for the first time this Thursday, there’s a few things that might be on your mind before you head to vote. So we’re trying to cover all bases so you’re equipped on Thursday 4th July.
Don’t forget your ID
New photo ID laws mean you must take photo identification when you go to your polling station. There’s a list of accepted photo IDs if you’re not sure – but this is very important otherwise you could be turned away.
Do I need my polling card?
You should’ve received a polling card in the post, but if it got thrown out, don’t panic – you don’t need a polling card to vote. As long as you’ve registered, then you’ll be good to go.
I didn’t send my postal vote in time
There’s been a lot of uproar about how postal votes haven’t been sent in time, which means thousands of people are at risk of losing their vote. The good news is you can take your completed postal vote to your local polling station by 10pm on Thursday. Some local councils have also arranged that you can take your ballot to them before voting day, which is helpful if you’re heading out on holiday.
What if I make a mistake on my ballot paper?
If you think you’ve made a mistake, don’t panic. It’s easily done, especially if you’re feeling a bit nerve-wracking. You can hand your ballot back to the workers and ask for another one and they’ll get rid of your old ballot paper for you.
