NUS does not believe that students are apathetic, instead we believe that people are disengaged with the current political process but the next general election presents a number of crucial student issues.
Student Finance
We know that the review into Higher Education Funding will be taking place either side of the General election and the opportunity to make this a doorstep issue is one which is huge for the student movement. If students don’t want to see the cap increased to £7,000 or more, they need to get candidates to listen to them.
Student Housing
Housing is going to be high on every political parties manifesto. If students don’t show that they can vote efficiently, and on issues that effect students, then this could result in regressive legislation changes resulting in students choices on housing being drastically limited, which has an adverse effect on the cost of student housing, as well as many other negative consequences.
Immigration
This is set to be a hot topic at the forthcoming General election and any changes to immigration laws will effect the ways in which International Students are treated. This has the potential to damage University recruitment drives overseas, but also impacts on current International Students, making systems complex, expensive and difficult to navigate.
You can register to vote if you are:
• 16 years old or over;
• a British citizen;
• an Irish, EU or qualifying Commonwealth citizens. Qualifying Commonwealth citizens are those who have leave to enter or remain in the UK, or do not require such leave – a full list of qualifying countries can be found here.
How do I register?
To register, all you have to do is fill in a form and send it to your local council’s Electoral Registration Office (ERO). Registration forms can be easily downloaded and ordered.
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