To vote or not to vote: what’s the problem?

So somebody’s been elected London Mayor, apparently. When it comes down to those gosh darn Thursday elections, Felix finds itself in the unenviable position of not being able to report on who won. Anyway, as tempting as it might have been for Felix to run an incredibly localised and ultimately wildly inaccurate exit poll, we didn’t particularly wish to tempt fate. What is fact, however, is the potential clout that students had in the vote. With nearly 450,000 London-based students eligible to list their preferences for Mayor of London and members of the London Assembly, a real difference could have been made to the results if all were to stand up and be counted. Of course, this wasn’t entirely the case.

The ability for students to be able to vote for Mayor of London is something that should be seized with both hands. The manifesto points of the candidates have a real difference in the day-to-day lives of Londoners. Yet, there are inevitably those who didn’t go to the polling booth. One prevalent excuse from those I’ve discussed the election with was that they simply “couldn’t be bothered”. Is this really acceptable? It’s one thing to vote for a candidate for a reason, but not being aware when the decision makes a real difference to life in London? That’s another thing entirely.

There’s also the issue that the contest has been veering towards a war of words and personality, much to its detriment. From the usual Boris gaffes to the much debated Ken tax affair there has been distressingly few proper discussions and debate between candidates that didn’t descend into mud slinging. Even the live debates have been little more than candidates attacking other candidates. It’s little wonder that while there are those who fervently oppose candidates, there are those who simply can’t make head nor tail of the situation. And this isn’t a situation that we should be in.

An issue connected to this election and one that divides Londoners to the same degree are the upcoming Olympic Games. For those who despair at the bill, there are those who fervently believe in the resulting legacy. Then there are those who don’t particularly mind that much at all. They should be caring about this and the Mayor of London. Beyond the rhetoric and campaign trail, there are real changes that will be affecting the city we work, study and live in.