The Polling Station didn't get my heart racing
like it did to other people.
(Image Source: BBC)
Las week we have found that David Cameron is the next Prime Minister and I am glad the election process is over. Being part of BBC Generation 2015 has been fantastic and I have been grateful of the opportunities it has given me but all the election hype was getting way too much. In this post, I write about what the elections have meant to me and what I thought about the process.
The Election Hype
As I am a second-time voter I definitely didn't have that feeling of excitement that I know others experienced voting this time round. I wasn't giddy with happiness or taking selfies outside the polling station. I didn't even watch the results ( I wished I had but with two interviews- one at midnight and one at half eight in the morning and a full day of work, I was going to be knackered). However, I was definitely more informed. I watched the TV debates, read the flyers that went through my door and asked other people their opinions ( I did none of that last time). As a result of this I felt more engaged and in control. Near the end of campaigning before voting, the TV debates were draining to watch and I personally didn't know what to believe. I said in an interview with BBC Radio Stoke on election night that Nick Clegg I felt did a lot of damage in the 2010 Election regarding trust amongst the younger voters due to the rise of tuition fees. I appreciate he was in a coalition but he would have never have been in this position without the student vote.
As I am a second-time voter I definitely didn't have that feeling of excitement that I know others experienced voting this time round. I wasn't giddy with happiness or taking selfies outside the polling station. I didn't even watch the results ( I wished I had but with two interviews- one at midnight and one at half eight in the morning and a full day of work, I was going to be knackered). However, I was definitely more informed. I watched the TV debates, read the flyers that went through my door and asked other people their opinions ( I did none of that last time). As a result of this I felt more engaged and in control. Near the end of campaigning before voting, the TV debates were draining to watch and I personally didn't know what to believe. I said in an interview with BBC Radio Stoke on election night that Nick Clegg I felt did a lot of damage in the 2010 Election regarding trust amongst the younger voters due to the rise of tuition fees. I appreciate he was in a coalition but he would have never have been in this position without the student vote.
After the results, I was (and still am) a bit annoyed in a way that the First Past the Vote system has become such an issue. Yes, it isn’t representative of the population. However everyone knew that was the voting system going to be used. In 2010, the Alternative Vote system proposed by Clegg was rejected by voters and there wasn't this much commotion about the voting system made before the election.
So what do I think?
To be honest, I thought David Cameron would get a second term ( I don't think anyone was prepared by the majority he got in by). I thought Ukip and the Green party would gain more seats than they did (although it was the voting system that screwed them over, and that's another topic for another post) and the SNP did far better than I thought.
To be honest, I thought David Cameron would get a second term ( I don't think anyone was prepared by the majority he got in by). I thought Ukip and the Green party would gain more seats than they did (although it was the voting system that screwed them over, and that's another topic for another post) and the SNP did far better than I thought.
David Cameron certainly is not perfect. I dislike the way he placed the cuts heavily on the poor and middle-income earners. The proliferation of zero hour contracts, meaning so many people stuck in jobs where they may only get two hours a week but have to be free for 37 and the frustrating tax loop poles so many companies exploit to avoid paying tax. However he has been a leader before, got the experience and I think the presence that Ed Milliband cannot replicate.
What does the mean for me in the next five years?
Considering the last five years the country has gone through the worst recession since World War 2, I have done fairly well. I went to university, have a full time paid job and have just bought my first house. On top of this- I avoided the nine grand fees and got EMA.
As awful as it sounds I don’t think Cameron’s proposals at this point will affect me that much and even if they do I am fairly confident that I can weather the storm.
I am not cold hearted and do worry about social issues- increasing need in food banks, increase in the lack of decent jobs, rapid decline in unaffordable housing, the possible increase of university fee’s to £12 grand and the possible privatisation of the NHS.
I don’t think Labour would have been right for this country because in the simplest terms their plan was to spend their way out of a recession and I had a gut feeling we would only end up back at square one. Whatever happens now as Cameron starts putting policies in place, I am sure the public will make their voice heard.
What are your opinions of the election? Are you happy with the outcome?
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