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Don’t turn the page! This isn’t another of those preachy, pro-democracy articles that talk to you about rights, liberty and the pursuit of some higher ideal. Neither is it a rallying call to send you out to vote for any particular party. Instead, I want to lay down a key point that can prove that there is some value to your vote and that, believe it or not, it does make a difference – and more than you think (no, seriously).

The most important reason to vote is simple, but often overlooked – increasing the power of your generation. This isn’t to do with becoming more political, or even exercising any particular viewpoint or ideal. Instead, it is simply a case of numbers, and the willingness of the main parties to woo the bulk of their electorate.

In the UK, 75% of people aged over 65 voted at the last General Election. Compare this with 34% of 18 to 24 year olds. As I write this, with a year to go to the next UK Parliamentary election, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, and the other party leaders will be constructing a manifesto of issues they wish to tackle over the next five years, constrained largely by budget. When it comes to apportioning precious resources (made even more precious in the light of a global recession), who do you think these parties will try to satisfy? Old people, or young people? One thing is certain, there aren’t enough resources to adequately satisfy both.

It is a sad fact of politics that our flawed electoral system forces the hand of parties to please the majority vote, in order to implement policy effectively and to gain power in the first place. Whilst pleasing the majority doesn’t sound like such a bad idea (majority rule is, after all, the point of a democracy), you have to remember that in the past, the majority has sometimes been homophobic, racist, nationalist, or worse.

Our system of government simply does not seem able to satisfy the minority voters without displeasing the majority, forcing those in the minority to have to attempt to woo the population themselves. This is in the hope that they might eventually gain sympathy and force government change as seen in the race rights movement, especially in the US, in the 1960s.

At the moment, and the issue concerning me in this article, students form this speechless minority. With a low voter turnout, we cannot hope for the government to listen to what we say or think. In order to affect change, and for students to get what they want, we must turn out in force and vote.

On June 4th, the European Parliamentary elections are being held, and turnout here will influence the policies of next year’s party manifestos. And so I urge you, no matter what party, no matter what belief, to go out, place your vote, and show the country that students want to be taken seriously.

– Robbie Pickles – President