{"id":18746,"date":"2019-09-06T14:55:43","date_gmt":"2019-09-06T13:55:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=18746"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:55:35","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:55:35","slug":"your-vote-counts-general-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=18746","title":{"rendered":"Your vote matters"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"fb-root\"><\/div>\n<p>As a snap general election looks increasingly likely amid parliamentary deadlock over Brexit, Unite has called on all those eligible to seize the opportunity \u00e2\u20ac\u201c by registering to vote.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The feeling that it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t matter \u00e2\u20ac\u201c maybe you believe your vote doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really count anyway \u00e2\u20ac\u201c is a pervasive sentiment shared by many among an electorate jaded by Brexit.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But if it is true that there is strength in numbers, then the strongest voice is of those who collectively did <em>not<\/em> vote last time around.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5s_qrmSYlgs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>And the sad truth is that the most marginalised groups in the country &#8212; such as working class and Black and ethnic minority (BAME) people &#8212; vote at much lower rates than their wealthier, more privileged counterparts.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Unite believes that it is those groups who stand to gain most, but who tend to vote the least, that have the greatest power to swing the next election.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The numbers themselves are stark &#8212; in the 2017 election, compared to only 29 per cent of those aged 65 and over, an astonishing 46 per cent of young people aged 18-24 failed to exercise their right to vote.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, of those in the lowest social class (DE) \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the group which has borne the greatest brunt of austerity \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 47 per cent stayed at home on election day. Meanwhile, a strong majority \u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u201c 68 per cent &#8212; \u00c2\u00a0of those in the highest \u00c2\u00a0social class (AB) made their voices heard.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>BAME voters, as well as those living in private rented accommodation, also failed to turn out in significant numbers, with nearly half of those eligible to vote in each group forfeiting their democratic right.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe Tory Party depends on those who don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t support them not voting,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Unite political director Anneliese Midgley. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf all of those who tend to vote in lower numbers \u00e2\u20ac\u201c young people, the working class, those in rented accommodation and BAME people, among others \u00e2\u20ac\u201c were to use their vote at the general election, then their interests and their voices could not be ignored.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut it all starts with registering to vote. At a time when the upcoming general election date is uncertain, we urge people to check that they are registered to vote and if not, to sign up online immediately. It only takes five minutes. Any delay could cost you your vote. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t miss out on what will be an historic opportunity to make sure all our voices are heard loud and clear.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Visit <a href=\"yourvotematters.co.uk\">yourvotematters.co.uk<\/a> to find out more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As a snap general election looks increasingly likely amid parliamentary deadlock over Brexit, Unite has called on all those eligible to seize the opportunity \u00e2\u20ac\u201c by registering to vote. &nbsp; The feeling that it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t matter \u00e2\u20ac\u201c maybe you believe your vote doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really count anyway \u00e2\u20ac\u201c is a pervasive sentiment shared by many among [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2869,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[1220,433],"wps_subtitle":"Unite: register to vote and make your voice heard","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18746"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18746"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25047,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18746\/revisions\/25047"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}