The leader of the Green Party, Natalie Bennett, will take part in a student conference at Bournemouth University on the 30th of January. Bennett, buoyed by the ‘Green Surge’ that has seen a doubling of her Party’s membership in a single year, will join local MPs Conor Burns and Tobias Ellwood, and Ukip’s prospective parliamentary candidate David Hughes, on a ‘Question Time’-style panel.
The event, dubbed ‘Election 2015: Does Your Vote Count?’ will be held at the University’s Executive Business Centre in Holdenhurst Road from 9 until 3pm. Aimed at youngsters aged 14 to 18 from local schools and colleges as well as the University’s own students, the conference will also feature interactive ‘speedvoting’ workshops, discussions and hands-on media training, in preparation for student coverage of May’s General Election. Themes for the day will include ‘Why should young people vote?’, ‘Education and tuition fees’, and ‘Should we lower the voting age to 16?’
Organisers have invited the five local Green Party candidates to attend and there will also be a stall where students can pick up leaflets and ask about Green policies. Many of the local Party’s nearly 400 members are students at Bournemouth. The Greens are the only major party promising to abolish tuition fees. Nationally, they enjoy a 26% approval rating among 18 to 24 year-olds.
For information and tickets, go to: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/election-2015-does-your-vote-count-student-conference-tickets-14802658149?aff=es2&rank=6
Helen Woodall
