Why #Votingmatters – House of Commons speech
W H Y # V O T I N G M A T T E R S – H O U S E O F C O M M O N S S P E E C H
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Today, Monday 20th April is the last day to register to vote for the UK’s general election. Since May 2014, @Emilymatters, which was created as part of a special event in the House of Commons last February that included a performance of my Emily Davison play, To Freedom’s Cause, has been working to encourage more young people and women to use their hard won right to vote.
Time is running out.
Too many women (9.1 million) chose not to vote in 2010 and it seems that large number may again choose to silence themselves, despite this being a vital chance to step up and be heard to ensure a fairer distribution of cuts to governmental budgets that are almost certainly on the way.
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So what’s to do?
Wherever you are today – at work, home, holiday or out and about at the shops. Talk to your friends, the woman at the supermarket till, the students on their way to uni. Because if they don’t register today, they can’t vote on 7th May. Full stop.
About My Vote is probably the best website to direct someone to today if they’re unsure about whether or not their already registered. Alternatively suggest the Register to Vote page. Both of these website as well as some excellent apps to help you get better informed feature in the @Emilymatters general election toolkit.
‘It’s our right, our birth right. We are equal. We all have one vote.’
On 25th March, I was invited by Tamina Mir to speak at the Asian Women’s Online Network ‘Women in Parliament‘ event alongside journalist & campaigner Edna Fernandez and 5050Parliament campaigner Frances Scott. I was taking part in Care International’s Walk in Her Shoes sponsored 10k steps a day walk.
More about Emilymatters:
- A social media campaign
- Includes my Emily Davison play ‘To Freedom’s Cause‘
- Supports & advances gender equality
- Particular focus on #Votingmatters for young people & women
‘Emily Davison trusted us, because she knew that we have every right to have our say, to be equal and to be better represented in Parliament.’
The Emilymatters team includes young political activists and we continue to build partnerships with other campaigns, organisations and creatives, including the film Suffragette, the WEA, The Peoples’ Politics, Fawcett BSE and now mi-voice.
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@RegistHERtoVote, are running an excellent campaign to encourage women to vote, as are @YouthMediaAgency, with #XXVote.
As the general election draws nearer please do get in touch. We’re looking to 2018, so it’d be great to get your support. You can find us on:
The past week has been a bit of a race against time personally, as I was rushing to get things before an operation and then managing an out of order WiFi situation over the past few days with a an occasional hour or so at the local Tescos cafe.
Still, where there’s a will there’s a way. It’s also made me very proud of my @Emilymatters colleagues. Chloe, Amanda, Mev, Jack, Nyasha and Ayath who have all stepped up – writing blogs, articles, tweeting and RT-ing. They more than made up for my unexpected almost total departure from the Twittersphere.
Kate Willoughby
Actor & Writer of Emily Wilding Davison play To Freedom’s Cause
A rising tide carries all VOTES!
