London – The date for the next UK General Election has been set as Thursday 7th May 2015, and it is getting closer and closer. To clear the field from uncertainties, let’s shed some light on the modalities and significance of the 2015 UK General Election, and have a look at some of the issues the new PMs should urgently tackle, according to the people living in London.
The UK General Election will be held on May 7th in order to replace the current fixed-term Parliament with the election of the members of the House of Commons – the heart of the Parliament, together with the House of the Lords. As a matter of fact, the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 provides for general elections to be held on the first Thursday in May every five years, thus giving the chance to the citizens to vote for the person who will represent their constituency in the House of Commons.
The candidate who received most votes becomes their MP, and will usually sit in the House of Commons for five years.
Successively, the political party that wins most seats in the House of Commons at a general election forms the new government, and customarily its leader becomes Prime Minister, appointed by the Queen. Therefore, it is important to point out that people cannot elect the Prime Minister directly, but through their vote they can determine how many seats her/his party will win, and therefore sustain her/his run for the premiership.
While Election Day is May 7th, the current Parliament will be dissolved on March 30th, starting a period called Prorogation which will end with the creation of the new Parliament (State Opening of Parliament), after the counting has been done. The last very important date is April 20th that is the deadline for registration: citizens allowed to vote can register online or at their local post office (you can find all the information on http://www.parliament.uk/get-involved/elections/register/).
The major issues around which the elections debate focuses are the economy (especially with regard to the so called ‘cost of living crisis’, the benefits cap issue, and taxes), employment strategies, NHS, improvement of the education system, immigration policies and EU membership.
The two major parties running for the election are the Conservative Party, led by present Prime Minister David Cameron, and the Labour Party, led by Ed Miliband. To follow we find the Greens, led by Natalie Bennett, and the Liberal Democrats, led by Nick Clegg.
The wild card is Nigel Farage’s UKIP which comes successful from the 2014 European elections. Other forces are the Scottish National Party, the Plaid Cymru, and the Northern Ireland Parties (DUP, SDLP, Sinn Féin, UUP and the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland).
The UK General Election inserts itself into a wider political debate centred on the complex relations with the EU, and the unstable power balance in the Community. As a matter of fact, elections (local or general) will be held at least in other eight members of the EU (SYRIZA already wan in Greece on January 25), and the spectre of Euro-scepticism – and with the rise of nationalist parties in some of the member states – has never been more palpable.
Therefore, the importance of the UK Elections has to be measured in the European context: if the Conservative Party wins an outright majority, present Prime Minister David Cameron promised an “in/out” referendum on British membership of the EU in 2017, a project which is not (openly) supported by Labour and Lib Dems.
Yet the Euro-sceptic trend in the UK might act as a catalyst for voters who are dissatisfied with the role the UK plays in Europe, as the rise of UKIP demonstrates.
The EU power structure might undergo to substantial changes in 2015, and its future is in the hands of today’s voters.
What do Londoners Think?
The political turmoil preceding the General Election mirrors – and is mirrored by – people’s concerns about the above-mentioned issues, concerns which spread across the social fabric. Being a global city, that is an economic, financial and cultural hub, London entails a huge social divide which, broadly, corresponds to its very geographical structure.
As the disparity between Central London and its suburbs might also have an impact on the election results, we decided to go out there, and ask people what issues they think the next government should urgently tackle. We interviewed people in Zone 6 (Erith), and people in The City: this is what they told us (fig.1 and 2).
For people living in the outskirts of London, the most important issues to be faced by the new government are: Housing (27%), NHS (15%), Employment and Education (both 12,5%), and Immigration (10%).
These results describe the social concern of the outskirts where people experience the actuality of the housing market crisis, the effects of the so called bedroom tax, and the unemployment rate, together with the concern for the increasing number of immigrants who, due to the housing crisis, flow out of the city and are packed in the periphery.
The people of The City answered differently, their attention primarily focused respectively on: Taxes (25%), Education (15%) and NHS (12,5%). Furthermore, the results show a broader commitment to Foreign Policy (5%) and Renewable Energy and Environment matters (5%) for people in the City, and a somewhat lesser interest in Family issues (only 2%).
One thing, though, unites the interviewees, from the periphery to the heart of London: to the question “who do you think is going to win the elections?” a quite resigned “I don’t have the slightest” is the general response; a common feeling of uncertainty which points out how the two major forces in the elections – Conservatives and Labour – are competing for a small majority, and the possibility of a coalition government seems very plausible.
Fig.1 Interviews in Zone 6
(Erith) Fig. 2 Interviews in The City
