General Election 2024: a young persons perspective

A question I think everyone needs to ask themselves is “how will this effect us? The young people.” We haven’t been in a situation like this for a long time most of us are used to having a conservative government especially here in Salisbury we have had a conservative government for 100 years.

We haven’t seen an election like this for a long time where the polls are so close here in Salisbury that people are predicting that it is between the Liberal Democrats (Victoria Charleston) and labour (Matt Aldridge). Since the Liberal Democrats have existed they have come second place in the election apart from in 2015 when labour came second with Tom Corbin.

YouGov, last updated on June 25th, shows the Conservatives as most likely to win the Salisbury seat, but it uses its least likely projection to suggest that.

YouGov places Victoria Charleston as the most likely challenger, with Matt Aldridge a close third. A small swing of votes from one to the other and a result on the lower end of the range for Conservative John Glen could see a change of MP for Salisbury.

Electoral Calculus, which shows it’s working when making predictions, sees things differently.

They predict a Labour victory for Matt Aldridge, with John Glen second most likely to win the seat.

They give percentage chances of winning, with Labour having a 46% chance, the Conservatives a 41% chance, and the Lib Dems trailing in third with a 13% chance.

Victoria Charleston (Liberal Democrats)

The Liberal Democrats have promised that they will tackle the crisis in teacher recruitment and retention by Creating a teacher workforce strategy to ensure that every secondary school child is taught by a specialist teacher in their subject, Reforming the School Teachers’ Review Body to make it properly independent of government and able to recommend fair pay rises for teachers, and fully funding those rises every year, ad by Funding teacher training properly so that all trainee posts in school are paid. Within education they have also promised to improve the quality of vocational educational including skills for entrepreneurship and self employment. Tackle bullying in schools by promoting pastoral leadership in schools and delivering high-quality relationships and sex education. They also want to give 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote which has been in their manifesto for ages.

Matt Aldridge (Labour)

The Labour party say We will increase the engagement of young people in our vibrant democracy, by giving 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in all elections. Labour is determined to raise school standards for every child, and ensure they are prepared for the future. Most children attend schools where the Conservatives are failing to provide the support and teaching that they need. Labour will end the VAT exemption and business rates relief for private schools to invest in our state schools. The factor that makes the biggest difference to a child’s education is high-quality teaching; but there are shortages of qualified teachers across the country. Labour will recruit an additional 6,500 new expert teachers. We will get more teachers into shortage subjects, support areas that face recruitment challenges, and tackle retention issues. The way bursaries are allocated, and the structure of retention payments, will be reviewed. Every child should have a broad curriculum with an excellent foundation in reading, writing and maths, and support to develop essential digital, speaking, and creative skills. Yet today, too many are missing out. Labour will launch an expert-led review of curriculum and assessment, working with school staff, parents and employers to change this.

John Glen (Conservative)

the conservative party want to introduce “a bold new model of National Service to give young people the skills and opportunities they need to succeed.” they also want to introduce 100,000 high-quality apprenticeships – by curbing rip-off university degrees. We will end the artificial and damaging divide between academic and technical education which has persisted for far too long. Every young person will spend more time in the classroom, learning more subjects, including English and maths to 18, as they do in most advanced economies around the world.

Julian Malins (Reform UK)

Reform UK have said a Patriotic Curriculum in Primary and Secondary Schools any teaching about a period or example of British or European imperialism or slavery must be paired with the teaching of a non-European occurrence of the same to ensure balance. History and social science curriculum to be reviewed and audited regularly to ensure balance. Our children must be taught about their heritage. Ban Transgender Ideology in Primary and Secondary Schools no gender questioning, social transitioning or
pronoun swapping. Inform parents of under 16s about their children’s life decisions. Schools must have single sex facilities. Scrap Interest on Student Loans extend loan capital repayment periods to 45 years. Restrict undergraduate numbers well below current levels, too many courses are not good enough and students are being ripped off. Enforce minimum entry standards. The government’s Free Speech Act is toothless. Allowing political bias or cancel culture must face heavy financial penalties. Permanent Exclusions for Violent and Disruptive Students We will double the number of Pupil Referral Units
(PRUs) so schools can function safely. We will also ensure that best practice is spread across PRUs.

Barney Norris (Green Party)

The Green Party say Education should be about inspiring a love of learning and ensuring that every young person can reach their potential. Yet too many children are failing to thrive in an education system that operates like a production line rather than valuing their individual qualities. An investment in the next generation is the most important investment we can make. They will do this by

An increase in school funding of £8bn, to include £2bn for a pay uplift for teachers.
Supporting every higher education student, with the restoration of grants and the end of tuition fees.
Ending high-stakes testing at primary and secondary schools and abolishing OFSTED.

they want to introduce Votes for 16-year-olds and residence-based voting rights. They say Most of us want to live in a country where everyone is treated with dignity, not one where record numbers of children are in poverty, older people can’t keep warm and disabled people are badly let down. We can do so much better, lifting everyone up and making sure all of us can access extra help when we need it. To tackle the cost-of-living crisis for the poorest in our society and make the social security system fairer and less punitive, elected Greens will campaign to: Increase Universal Credit and legacy benefits by £40 a week. Abolish the two-child benefit cap, lifting 250,000 children out of poverty. End the ‘bedroom tax’. In the long term, introduce a universal basic income to give everybody the security to start a business, study, train and live their life in dignity.