[Anirudh]: Why should we care about voting? Because it affects everything in our lives. Don’t like how the NHS is being handled? Vote. Want to change who pays how much tax? Vote. Want One Direction to get back together? Vo...okay voting probably won’t change that, but you get the idea. Roll title!
[text on screen]: RightsInfo on...Voting.
[Anirudh]: Human rights laws protect our right to free and fair elections. And basically anyone over the age of 18 can vote. But it wasn’t always like this.
Before 1832 Britain wasn’t even a democracy. Back then, voting was a privilege only enjoyed by men with the most money. The 1832 Reform Act gave more men the right to vote, but not many. Throughout the 19th Century, reformist groups like The Chartists demanded more political change.
[first image: Chartists album cover]
[Anirudh]: Come on Jack, a serious picture!
[second image: serious Chartists picture]
[Anirudh]: Slowly the archaic, wealth-based voting system disappeared. Thanks to Emmeline Pankhurst and the suffragettes women gained the right to vote in 1928. And since 1969, anyone 18 or over have shared that right! Come on, a little clap?
[Applause sounds]
[Anirudh]: Haha, okay. But seriously, even today over half the world don’t live in democracies. We do - we are incredibly lucky to have the power to replace our leaders every few years if we don’t like them. Voting is the only way we can exercise that power. At the end of the day it’s your call whether you vote or not, but voting is a privilege that few people have, and I think we should use it. That’s why we should care about voting!
