07/06/2017
Can we talk about politics? Just for one day?
Please take 5 minutes today to let people know who and why you're voting for tomorrow and ask them to do the same. Do it in the office, on social media and by email. Make sure people are going to vote, especially any young people you know.
If you don't have more time today just Share this post with your followers if you agree with it.
Please also Share and Like our The Education Party page
Here's why...
It's the UK general election tomorrow and I really hope that people will vote based on policies for once. I hope that people won't just vote based on slogans, personalities or fake news. They almost certainly will do just that, but maybe if we all try and discuss our views openly in a civilized way today we might change enough opinions to make a difference and break through the social media 'filter bubble' and one sided views being peddled by the press barons.
My personal passion is education. As a parent and school governor I strongly believe that a Conservative victory on Thursday would be the final nail in the coffin for the state education system that I was lucky enough to benefit from.
I've seen first hand the effects of real terms funding cuts, how selective grammar schools and free schools negatively impact the state system as a whole, and some of the ridiculous primary assessments that have sadly outlasted Michael Gove's tenure as education secretary.
I know there are other important issues too, but for many of them (the environment, health, immigration, policing and brexit) the issues and choices are similar. What kind of world and country do we want the next generation to inherit? The last two years have demonstrated what happens when there is no coalition partner to reign in the more extreme policies. They've shown that the Conservatives are not really in it for everyone, despite what soundbites they come out with at election time.
Personally, based on policies, I'll probably vote Lib Dem. They were the only party mentioning education policy in the 2015 election and our local candidate is the only one to feature it prominently in his personal manifesto. Although I confess I'm tempted to vote tactically using https://www.tactical2017.com/
Now UKIP are a spent political force we're not going to end up with someone quite as crazy as Trump, but I believe a Conservative landslide would have a significant, and detrimental, impact on our world, country and communities. If our government can't stand up to Trump when he ditches a policy designed to save our planet, or picks on the Mayor of our capital city, what hope is there? As in America it might not take many changed opinions or additional voters to change the outcome. And as France is showing us an established leader may not be as important as someone with a firm handshake who stands up for what they believe in.
Constructive comments welcomed.
If you have more time please .....
- Make this your profile picture
http://educationparty.org.uk/profile.jpg
- Share this image on social media
http://educationparty.org.uk/blackboard.jpg
- Follow the links on the website to other campaign groups to find out more
http://educationparty.org.uk/
- Take 5 minutes to read a policy comparison to decide who you should really be voting for
http://www.votingcounts.org.uk/policy-matrix.html
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2017/may/19/who-should-i-vote-for-the-uk-election-manifestos-compared
- Or take a 5 minute policy quiz
https://uk.isidewith.com/political-quiz
http://www.whoshouldyouvotefor.com/
http://www.whoshallivotefor.com/