Hugo Swire Advises First-Time Voters To Cast Their Vote Carefully

"Reading this stie, I am struck by how many young people are supportive of Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems." Hugo Swire explains to Exmouth's First Time Voters why they should think carefully before casting their vote. Each political candidate has been invited to pitch to Exmouth's First-Time Voters and this is the first response.

Hugo Swire says:

In Britain today youth unemployment is the highest in Europe. Conservatives believe that young people are the biggest victims of Labour’s economic mismanagement. Almost 900,000 young people aged between 16-24 are not in any kind of employment, education or training. And labour’s job tax will make it more expensive for firms to take on new staff. When it comes to further education, the demands are rising but the budgets are being cut.  Universities say that 200,000 young people could miss out on a place this summer. And what about affordable housing? The number of first time buyers is at its lowest rate since modern records began.

So why should you vote Conservative? Well there are many reasons, but here are a few that may resonate with younger voters; we will stop Labour’s jobs tax so more young people can be taken on by employers and we will fund an extra 10,000 university places in 2010. These will be paid for by introducing an early repayment bonus on student loans – giving graduates a 10 per cent discount on early loan repayments. We will provide 400,000 extra training places to help unemployed young people get work experience. I am passionate about giving school leavers the right to train for jobs locally.  That is why I am working hard to establish a Hospitality Academy at Rolle College to provide training in order that local people can find better paid jobs locally.  We also want to improve careers advice by introducing it to every secondary school and college in the country. First time buyers will be helped on the housing ladder by increasing the stamp duty threshold to £250,000 which means nine out of ten first-time buyers will pay no stamp duty at all. And we will protect the environment by promoting low carbon energy, setting a legal limit on the emissions from UK power stations and giving every house in the UK the right to have energy efficiency improvements in their home.

Reading this site I am struck by how many young people are supportive of Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems. This is of course their democratic right. The live TV debates have energised the nation’s interest in politics but it has also made it more Presidential in feel. On May 6 you will not be voting for a man but a Party and it is crucial therefore that you take time to scrutinise all the different policies in order that you can make an informed decision. You must also be aware that because of our voting system, voting for one party often gets another in by default.  And what about a ‘hung’ Parliament? Some like the Lib Dems think it would be a good thing. I’m afraid I don’t. These are grave times for Britain. We face the highest peacetime deficit in our history. At such a moment, strong executive government with a mandate for change is preferable to the manifold uncertainties of a weak minority government or a coalition, both of which could trigger a second election.  

This is without doubt one of the most exciting and unpredictable elections for a generation and I urge everyone to think very carefully before casting their vote.