{"id":3512,"date":"2015-04-01T08:00:51","date_gmt":"2015-04-01T07:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=3512"},"modified":"2015-04-01T16:10:45","modified_gmt":"2015-04-01T15:10:45","slug":"20-days-to-go-are-you-one-in-a-million-dont-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=3512","title":{"rendered":"One in a million? Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be"},"content":{"rendered":"
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One\u00c2\u00a0million people have fallen off the electoral roll since the government changed the way we register to vote back in September. Many won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even know.<\/p>\n

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If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a one in the million then you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll miss out in the most important election in our times.<\/p>\n

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But there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still time to make sure that get your vote. The cut-off date for registration is 20 April. That gives you 20 days from today to sign up.<\/p>\n

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The good news is that you can now register online. It takes just minutes using Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Votebooster tool. Go to http:\/\/votebooster.org\/register\/unite. All you need is your National Insurance number (find it on your payslip!).<\/p>\n

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Your vote is your power. When you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t use it, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re easier for politicians to ignore.\u00c2\u00a0Nine million\u00c2\u00a0women did not vote in 2010 and have been hardest hit by the coalition\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s welfare and tax cuts, with 70 per cent falling on them.<\/p>\n

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Over half of young people also stayed away from the polls last time, so the coalition put older voters first — hiking university tuition fees, axing the Education Maintence Allowance (EMA) and shutting youth clubs.<\/p>\n

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Veteran anti-austerity campaigner Harry Leslie Smith summed it up perfectly when he said: \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t vote, your future will be handed to the 1 per cent.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Hardworking families and the most vulnerable in our society have been ill-served by this government. Five years of austerity have caused misery to millions. Any government that doles out tax cuts to the rich when foodbank use has soared by a shocking 163 per cent is out-of-touch with the lives of ordinary people struggling with the worst cost of living crisis in living memory.<\/p>\n

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Now is the time to \u00e2\u20ac\u0098seize your destiny\u00e2\u20ac\u2122, as Harry said when he addressed a packed crowd at the University of Manchester last month (March 11).<\/p>\n

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He added: \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis will be the only opportunity to turn things around before it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s too late. Too many people are suffering today in the country. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re being ignored because of the mere fact that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re poor, and no one\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s listening to them. Austerity has cut their lifestyles, when they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re living standards should have been increasing.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no denying that voter apathy and low election turnout are serious problems in British politics today.\u00c2\u00a0 After all, only 65 per cent of the electorate voted at the last general election \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t our experience when we went on the road.<\/p>\n

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Over 15 days, the #NoVoteVoice roadshow travelled across England and Wales in a red double-decker bus registering missing voters. We met some amazing people, from workers at the Ty-phoo tea plant in the Wirral to students at Manchester University. Listen to what they had to say and be inspired to vote on 7 May:<\/p>\n

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