{"id":2461,"date":"2014-09-29T20:43:25","date_gmt":"2014-09-29T20:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.katewilloughby.co.uk\/?page_id=2461"},"modified":"2015-06-19T10:10:54","modified_gmt":"2015-06-19T10:10:54","slug":"votingmatters","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.katewilloughby.co.uk\/?page_id=2461","title":{"rendered":"#Votingmatters"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u00a0D O\u00a0\u00a0 Y O U\u00a0\u00a0 T H I N K\u00a0\u00a0 # V O T I N G M A T T E R S ?
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#votingmatters to 21st century suffragettes at the 2014 Emily Tree pic nic<\/p><\/div>\n

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#votingmatters<\/strong> is a new campaign from #Emilymatters.<\/strong><\/a> which champions gender equality and encourages young women to vote, ensuring that legacies of women, such as suffragette Emily Davison,<\/strong><\/a> are not forgotten.<\/p>\n

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At the last general election only 39%<\/strong> of young women aged 18-24 voted, whilst just 20%<\/strong> of BME young women used their right to vote.<\/p>\n

This has to change and will require genuine grass roots engagement, better representation of women and minorities as well as more devolved powers from Westminster.<\/p>\n

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I don\u2019t really care \u2026 I\u2019m not really interested in it. I think it\u2019s very boring.<\/strong><\/a>
\n<\/strong>– Lauren, Glasgow
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We ran 2 #DearLauren<\/strong><\/a> campaigns in response to Lauren’s comments about voting. Find out more about Lauren’s story<\/a><\/strong> in her own words.<\/p>\n

Aged 18-21?<\/strong> Here is just one example of some proposed policies that could directly affect you. #votingmatters<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Headline from Mail on Sunday, 28 September 2014
Click on image to go to original article.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Since 2014, we have been collecting vox pops, photos and clips about #votingmatters<\/strong> and what matters to you at the general election<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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What matters to you at the general election?
From the WEA North East Spring 2015 conference.<\/p><\/div>\n

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The Scottish Independence Referendum<\/strong> demonstrated the power of grassroots political engagement<\/strong>. Just about everyone in Scotland was talking about it – on the street, in pubs, schools and in the media, which is why #Votingmatters<\/strong> was there.<\/p>\n

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\"PicsArt_1412008489410\"<\/a>

#Votingmatters at the Scottish Independence Referendum<\/p><\/div>\n

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However, this year’s general election<\/strong> is likely to be business as usual when it comes to voting, with many more young women like Lauren choosing not to vote.<\/p>\n

So it’s definitely time for action: Deeds AND Words<\/strong>, which is an adaptation of one of the suffragettes’ most popular slogans – Deeds Not Words – that was coined in response to the government of the day’s repeated backtracking on their promises for meaningful voting reform.<\/p>\n

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\"Olympic<\/a>

Dr Helen Pankhurst, great granddaughter of Emmeline Pankhurst, (leader of the British suffragette movement), with daughter Laura & the Olympic suffragettes added their support for #Votingmatters on Emily Davison\u2019s birthday, 11 October.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Get_involved_f28_80096b\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Too many people say they don’t know enough about politics, or that politicians are all the same. But in the age of Google, there’s no excuse for not getting informed.<\/p>\n

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Don’t let anyone silence you, or make you feel your vote won’t make a difference.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Don’t let anyone silence you, make you feel your vote won’t make a difference.<\/p>\n

The more young people and women who vote, the more whoever forms the next government will have to<\/strong> listen to you<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

It’s about fairness<\/strong>. The bulk of financial cuts over the last 5 years have fallen on the shoulders of young people and women, we want to ensure that doesn’t happen again.<\/p>\n

The good news<\/strong> is that according to the BBC’s David Cowling, 60%<\/strong> of voter registrations on the deadline date of 20 April 2015 were made by young people.<\/p>\n

So get out there and start talking about the election<\/strong> – the fact that you have this precious hard won right that so many around the world today are denied.<\/p>\n

Our democracy is far from perfect<\/strong>, but if you don’t vote, it’s not going to get any better. In fact it’s likely to get a whole lot worse.<\/p>\n

And voting’s just the start!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\"anne_preston3_love<\/a><\/p>\n

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Suffragette Emily Davison trusted us, future generations<\/strong> to have the right to vote<\/strong>, to be heard<\/strong>, to step up and be the decision makers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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It’s our right. Our birthright. <\/strong>
\nDon’t let anyone silence you.<\/strong>
\nBut most of all, please don’t silence yourself.<\/strong> <\/em>
\nBecause Emily matters. <\/strong>
\nBecause you<\/em> matter. <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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See our general election toolkit<\/strong><\/a> for information on how to check if you are already registered as well as access to local information to help you with any registration questions you may have.<\/p>\n

\"GE15<\/a><\/p>\n

There are a myriad of apps<\/strong><\/a>, clips<\/strong><\/a> and websites<\/strong><\/a> out there to help you find out more. We’ve included a number of these in our general election toolkit.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

You’ll find information on:<\/p>\n

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  • what the general election is<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
  • help to make a more informed choice<\/strong> <\/a><\/li>\n
  • how to register to vote<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

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    Vital legacy<\/strong>: Both my Emily Davison<\/strong> play, To Freedom’s Cause<\/strong><\/a> & the forthcoming feature film SUFFRAGETTE<\/strong> <\/a>highlight the bravery of those who fought for future generations of women to have the right to vote.<\/p>\n

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