Wessex Scene Launches General Election 2019 Survey

Wessex Scene has launched a survey in an attempt to garner information from students on their voting intentions and political priorities in the run-up to the upcoming December general election. 

In the introduction to the survey, students are informed that this election will be the first time that voters have been sent to the polls in December in nearly a century. The last Christmastime election occurred on 6th December 1923, when the Conservatives lost 86 seats to the Liberals and Labour Party, leading to a hung parliament and government collapse six weeks later. This paved the way for the first Labour government in January 1924.

The five-minute survey, which offers students the chance to have their voices heard, is composed of eight questions, including ‘Who do you plan on voting for in this election?‘ and ‘Do you think EU citizens should have the right to vote?‘.

It follows an active campaign by SUSU’s 2019-20 sabbatical team which encourages students to register to vote.

SUSU President Emily Harrison has this message about the general election which has been called for the 12 December ⬇⬇⬇ pic.twitter.com/sDJ8KEOL21

— SUSU (@Union_Soton) October 31, 2019

The Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) has been tracking students’ political views nationwide, and have argued that for the student vote to make a difference, ‘students must register to vote, turn out to vote, be in a marginal constituency, [and]vote as a block rather than cancel each other out‘.