On Thursday 2 May, the West Midlands Combined Authority Police and Crime Commissioner election will be taking place. The Mayoral election is also taking place on the same day. The neck-and-neck race between the Conservative incumbent, Andy Street, and the Labour challenger, Richard Parker, has been the focus of intense interest. It is impossible to predict who is going to win and, in such a close contest, every single vote could make a difference.
Birmingham students
People across the city will have their chance to have a say through voting in person, via post or via proxy. But for students in Birmingham, casting their vote is now more difficult than it was before.
There are five universities in Birmingham and data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency suggests that there are more than 75,000 university students in the city ‒ enough people to make up a whole constituency.
Approved Voter ID is now needed in order to vote and it has been widely noted that the options for young people are far more stringent than for older voters. It has even been suggested that the current Conservative government regards this as a feature of the system, rather than a bug. Support for the Conservative party among 18-34-year-olds has nose-dived.
Barriers to voting
Electoral turnout amongst young people is notoriously poor. Less than half of 18-24-year-olds say they are very likely to vote, compared with more than three-quarters of voters aged 66 and over.
At the 2019 general election, only 54% of young people aged 18-24 turned out to vote, the lowest rate of any age group. And turnout is always lower for local elections.
Confusion about, and difficulty obtaining, appropriate ID will place yet another barrier between young people and the ability to exercise their democratic right. Photo ID such as a passport or driving licence is valid but the young people I spoke to at Birmingham City University felt that there are more Voter ID options for the older generation than for them. A student bus pass is not accepted, for example, but a 60+ bus pass is.
The student vote ‒ or its absence ‒ could be the deciding factor in whether Andy Street or Richard Parker becomes the next mayor of the West Midlands.
Disillusioned with current politics
Several students I spoke to are unsure about the voting system and whether or not their vote will have an impact on society. Many are disillusioned with current politics in the UK.
One said: “I feel like voting won’t do anything. I’ve never voted before. I don’t even know how to vote.”
Another student was critical of the new ID requirements: “I think it’s insane you need a photo ID to vote and have to register.”
However, not everyone agrees. Some feel that using their voices by voting will help change the things they want to see develop in their community.
Oliver Phillips said: “Not voting throws away your option to make a change. If you don’t like what you’re seeing, you can see your vote changes things.”
Support for students
At Birmingham City University, the Students’ Union is trying to help students vote. “The majority of what we’ve done around this issue is signposting,” said a union representative. “As a member of National Union of Students (NUS), we’ve been actively pushing their recent ‘Turn up to vote’ campaign.”
The campaign urges students to register to vote for local elections. It also provides a link to obtain a free and approved ID card.
“In terms of promoting the NUS campaign, we have done this digitally through our website and social media platforms. We have uploaded a news article and added the Turn up to vote graphics online linking directly to the campaign. As we near the next General Election, it’s likely we will continue with our digital campaign but also have in-person stalls to grab students in person and tell them about this free voter ID which is available.”
If you don’t already have approved photo ID, you can get a free CitizenCard from the NUS website.
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