By Flynn Jacobs-Holden
There is ‘much more work needed to ensure students are registered to vote’, says University of Leicester Labour Society chairperson Reed James.
The next general election is expected to take place sometime this autumn, with Labour tipped to win.
But given Britain has had three prime ministers since the public gave Boris Johnson the remit at the last general election, in 2019, there is much appetite amongst students for political regime change.
For many students it will be their first time voting.
In 2014, the UK moved a household-based voter registration to Individual Electoral Registration. With the previous system, universities were able to automatically register all their students when they enrolled. Now they cannot.
Consequently, many students have not registered to vote themselves – 2022 Election Commission data says only 60 per cent of 18 to 19-year-olds and 67 per cent of 20 to 24-year-olds are registered.
The UoL Labour Society has run a voter registration campaign in collaboration with Leicester Students’ Union and several other societies, reaching students via social media and on-campus stalls, to encourage them to register.
“[We have] regular events, from talks by MPs to panels about being a woman in politics which opens up the political process, which can often seem inaccessible.
“We run regular campaigns on our campus to ensure student voices are heard on relevant issues.
“Most recently, we ran a campaign to lower food prices on campus, which cultivated in a successful motion passing student council, empowering the students’ union to take further actions to pressure the university to lower food prices to more reasonable levels.”
Reed said he hopes the society ensures as many students are registered to vote as possible.
He said: “I hope we make more students engage in politics, specifically, Labour politics, and that it activates those members to get more involved in politics, such as campaigning for Labour.”
