MP keen to see more done to encourage electoral registration

Alison Seabeck, Labour MP for Plymouth Moor View, has asked the Deputy Prime Minister about concerning levels of voter registration among school age voters and the lessons learned from a pilot in Northern Ireland which encouraged Electoral Registration Officers to visit schools.

The government’s figures from their own pilots suggest that nearly 9 million of the current electorate face falling off the register, as they can’t be matched with government-held (DWP) data. However the Schools Initiative in Northern Ireland, which Labour support, helped dramatically increase registration amongst young people, but is not being rolled out in the rest of the UK.

Alison Seabeck MP said: “We already know that the number of young people registering to vote has fallen because of the new method of individual registration and I am keen to ensure that young people have their voices heard.  I recently ran a series of events for young people on issues like sexualisation and have chaired a ‘pop up’ parliament in Plymouth. During these events it was clear that young people really care about where they live and their futures and if they are not on the electoral register then they won’t have a say.

“Some young people live in households where voting has not been the norm or indeed where people haven’t registered to vote in the past. I will be writing to the head teachers in my constituency to ask for their thoughts on this important issue. I would like to see schools raising awareness by either inviting the Electoral Registration Office to come and speak to their 17 and 18 year old students or through tutors encouraging them to fill in the online form.”

Sarah Staples, one of Plymouth’s four elected UK Youth Parliament candidates, agrees that young people should be encouraged to register to vote. She said: "The purpose of education is to provide opportunities for young people and so it seems to me that it is common sense to give young people the information they need in order to be able to register to vote. Encouraging young people to register is allowing them a platform from which to have their voices heard"

In a written response to Ms Seabeck’s question, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Childcare and Education, Sam Gyimah MP, said: “The Government has no plans to require Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) in Britain to visit schools. EROs in Great Britain are already free to visit schools and further education collages in their area to promote registration, and many of them do.”

Individual electoral registration could affect you. You can register to vote, or update your details here: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote