Mad Mike Young (in a pub) (Image: Tom Oldham)
More than half of first-time voters do not feel there is a political party that truly represents their views and beliefs and almost one- in-five couldn’t name their local MP, according to research which shows the worrying level of disengagement with a General Election less than three weeks away.
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With almost four in ten young voters (37%) saying they do not even know who their local candidates are, celebrated photographer Tom Oldham has captured portraits of would-be MPs from across the political spectrum in a bid to combat voter apathy and encourage youngsters to get out and use their vote on July 4.
A survey of over 2,000 British first-time voters carried out by Censuswide found that 42% don’t trust any political party, citing broken promises and a lack of delivery on key issues.
The economy was the biggest topic to be tackled for 55%, followed by education (41.9%) and social justice (41%). Almost a third (32%) said the environment as their main area of concern.
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Phrases most regularly quoted to highlight their disillusion and sense of betrayal were: “None of them know what it’s truly like to live on the breadline” and “They never treat the country correctly, but they always treat their bank accounts well.”
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Bill Blockhead (bath tub) (Image: Tom Oldham)
Social media is the primary source of political information for 60% of youngsters but only half (51%) trusted what they saw there about political candidates.
And the findings don’t just make worrying reading for Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer, Ed Davey and Nigel Farage – the distrust extends to independent candidates as well.
Oldham’s self-funded campaign aims to show that there is diversity in British politics, and he not only photographed but sought the views of ‘The Hopefuls’ the local politicians putting themselves forward across the whole political arena.
His project’s overriding message is to go deliver your vote, if you like the sound of a candidate vote – if you don’t still vote for someone else.
The number of independent candidates that have chosen to stand at this election is 460, whereas there were just 224 in 2019, and many of them mirror the concern of the 38% of potential voters who said they didn’t engage with any candidate because of a total distrust in the entire political process.
Knowing the debates and media airtime is focused on traditional parties, Oldham ensured he was showcasing the diversity of some of these independents, and photographed candidates including David Buckley, a regular Conservative voter standing in Windsor, and Andrew Feinstein, a former MP in Mandela’s government in South Africa, standing against Keir Starmer in Holborn and St Pancras.
Count Binface standing against Rishi Sunak in Richmond and North Allerton (Image: Tom Oldham)
Gina Miller, of the True and Fair Party, hoping to gain Epsom & Ewell, is photographed alongside a statue of suffragette Emily Davison, said “We need to think differently about our structures, about our governance, about the way we give people hope.
Chan Abraham, an Independent standing for Huntington, said; 'I believe this nation is badly broken. It's been broken by those who are charged with governance, and I'm convinced that the only people who can restore what has been lost will be people who are independent. People like myself, who cannot be bribed, bought, bullied, or blackmailed.'
Count Binface (created by Jonathan David Harvey), standing against Rishi Sunak in Richmond and North Allerton told him: “My views on immigration are quite simple. I am an alien from another space quadrant. I’m gonna be pretty much pro it, wouldn’t you say so?”
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Explaining his mission Oldham said: "It’s clear to see that trust in politics and politicians is at an all-time low which is making many disengage entirely. Part of the issue is that first-time voters don’t think that any of the parties represent them and a lot of that seems to be because they don’t know who their representatives are.
“I hope this series can showcase the many faces of British politics and encourage first time voters to register to vote and get to the polls."
The Hopefuls can be found at: https://thehopefuls.co.uk/
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