This week we have to decide who leads our country into the future. This isn't a piece telling you who to vote for; there are countless websites that let you answer multiple choice questions about your political beliefs before giving you the party manifesto you're most aligned to. Over a million young people registered to vote before the deadline at the end of May; wherever you are in the country, you have the chance to shape its future. Just make sure you vote. Google Map your nearest polling station, plan a route, choose an apt song—and make sure you vote.
For first-time voters who don't know what to expect, Complex reached out to a few contributors to the bestselling book The Good Immigrant to talk us through their first time voting and why they'll be voting on Thursday 8th June.
The First Time You Voted
Nikesh Shukla (Editor): I can't even remember the first time I voted. I know it was the 2001 election and I know I didn't vote for Labour because of tuition fees, so I went for Liberal Democrat, and I know I was listening to "Real Great Britain" by Asian Dub Foundation as I walked to the polling station. I tried to conjure up this significant moment—my first time voting. And it just felt flat and ordinary and that almost made the experience for me, because it feels normal, for me to be in the voting booth, exercising my right. As it should be.
Coco Khan: The first time I voted, it was in a church hall, in Essex. I was registered to vote in my mum's constituency as I didn't have a permanent address of my own at the time. I knew it wouldn't make a difference to who won in her town: my mum's area is staunchly Conservative, and proudly anti-immigration. It's the kind of place the BNP would canvass and might have some success; a place your neighbours would give you more grief than you deserved; a place where you'd cross the road if you saw a bunch of white kids in England shirts. It's one of the reasons why, as soon as I turned 18, I left home.
I didn't feel disappointed when I discovered our MP of choice didn't win. I was glad to still register our existence in the neighbourhood, to take five mins out and say "I'm here, whether you like it or not." I linked arms with my mum on the way to the ballot, a symbol that's stayed with me throughout my voting experience: linking arms, standing for something.
Daniel York Loh: I wish I had a nice romantic story about the first time I voted but, in all honesty, I don't. In fact, I can't even remember it. I do remember feeling utterly powerless about the things that governments have done, though, and I do remember feeling annoyed when I couldn't vote and that this stuff was being done in my name. Because whoever wins, that's what they’ll be saying: "We've been given a mandate by the people". So I say make sure it's a proper mandate, and if you oppose them, make sure you've earned the right to oppose them by having a say.
Miss L: The first time I voted was for local elections. It felt incredibly important as I was finally able to have a say.
Sarah Sahim: My first time voting was in the 2015 General Election for Labour. I felt nothing but disdain for Ed Miliband's awful centrist campaign that thought it would be appropriate to sell this mug, but I needed to do what I had to, to keep the Tories out and hold the government to account.
Being politically engaged extends far beyond casting a vote every now and then. I regularly email my MP, Gisela Stuart, regarding issues that concern women, marginalised people, education, the NHS and foreign policy. It's important to vote so you have a mandate of sorts to raise concerns with your MP. You need to make your views known as a constituent by partaking in the political process as much as you can; attend surgeries, physically correspond, protest, sign petitions, and raise awareness online. It might not yield you the result you want, but at least you can go to sleep at night knowing you tried to make a difference. It could be that you change your MP's mind, though!
Vinay Patel: I was at university at a time that felt a lot less politically loaded than now. It didn't feel important so much as exciting. Here I was, officially entering into the civic infrastructure of the country I hoped to play a positive role in. I mean, I don't expect that's exciting to that many 19-year-olds but there we are...
Why You Must Vote
Vera Chok: I often feel small and useless but we have to fight back. When it came to politics, I used to stick my head in the sand. The hugeness of social problems upset me. Skewed and partial news upset me. Because I'm not financially stable, I've had to move house every 1.5 years. I've never felt settled but I so badly want to take root. I want to be seen and listened to and I want to give back what I can. I believe that we make a difference in the world, no matter who we are, what we look like, how we speak. Each and every one of us can smile at a stranger and connect. Touch and change someone. Each of us can vote and make that mark. Now, it really is the time to fight—for the quality of your life and the lives of many, many others. Stick your neck out. Grow.
Coco: The system is flawed—it is stacked against people who want to see change, especially young people. But, whether we like it or not, it is one of the few ways we can affect change. One of the reasons governments can be so hard on young people is because they know they won't vote—instead, they pander to those who will keep them in power. It's time to change that. I will be voting because I want change.
Sarah: I'm voting because I'm truly unhappy with what we deem to be the status quo. We spent over £45 billion on military spending last year. Why? Simply to exacerbate western supremacy and jingoism. Contrary to what we've been told, this comes at a cost to the general public. The lack of funding for the arts, education, the NHS and so much more is palpably destructive to society than the perceived threat of "terror". Increased military intervention also feeds into Islamophobia, of which the increased hostility has proved to be nothing but terrible for this country.
Only you have the power to make your voice heard. No one can speak for you.
Vinay: We are bonded to the fates of our fellow countrymen and women through taxation and voting. I think it's important to understand that countries don't just "happen", they require the engagement and energy of the population within them. The ritual of voting is part of that. Also, to be able to vote is to be given a little capacity to change your world. The nature of politics and life is compromise which means that that capacity often feels less about world-changing and more harm-reducing. Still, as any writer knows, "perfect" is the enemy of "good" and "good" is always worth giving a half hour of your life for.
Daniel: This country is changing around us at the pace of knots. Massive epochal seismic shifts are occurring right now. Do you really want to leave that to the other people to decide for you? It's not enough to say "they're all the same". That might have washed ten years ago. Not now. They're clearly not the same. So make sure that whoever's in charge knows that we're invested and we're watching and we will hold them to account (which you cannot do if you can't even put a cross in a box).
I don't like what’s happening in Britain right now. There may be little I can concretely do about that, but at least I can say I won't be letting anyone take me for granted as someone who didn't care enough to agree or disagree. If you really can't see anything in what any of the political parties are saying then go down and spoil the ballot paper at the very least. But let's just make sure our voices are heard.
Miss L: I know it's cliché but I think voting is important because women actually died to ensure that I could vote. Voting is one of the few times we can actually have a say in not only how the country is run but also those things that affect our day-to-day lives. I'll be voting on June 8th because 5 years is a seriously long time to put up with something. It might feel that our one little vote doesn't mean something but, if we all believe that it really does, it actually will.
