Remember to vote today! Here’s why it’s important…

The UK general election is TODAY, 7th May 2015. This is your chance to choose who your next Member of Parliament (MP) will be. There are also many local council elections happening in the UK.

But why vote at all?

1. We live in a democracy — We have the right to vote in elections. Many other countries do not allow their citizens this right.
2. The suffragettes spent years campaigning to give women the vote — many even gave their lives. Some say it is disrespectful to them to waste your vote.
3. Voting gives you the power to choose how the UK is run  — choose a party with policies closest to your views.
4. Your local MPs can help fight on important issues for you such as animal welfare law, women’s rights, LGBTQ rights — so find out where they stand on the issues you care about.
5. Even if you live in a safe seat voting is important — otherwise, change will never happen.
6. The more people vote the more representative Parliament will be of ordinary British people — a representative Government is important in order to create laws that represent the views of the people.
7. You can leave your ballot blank — if you don’t agree with any of the parties you can leave your ballot blank or ‘spoil’ it, it’s a more effective protest than not voting at all because spoilt ballots are counted and recorded.
8. It only takes a few minutes and it’s really easy! — if you registered to vote before April 20th, follow the instructions on the polling card you received in the post.

If you’re not sure who to vote for, or just want to check you’ve made a good decision, take the Vote for Policies quiz to find out which political party’s policies you agree with. Note that only the main parties are options in this quiz — there may be candidates from other parties you can vote for who you agree with more.