Engage and vote

People get bored by talking about politics as well as confused. Political leaders use big words and complicated phrases and it makes it difficult for the everyday person on the street to engage with politics. So if you want to understand, if you want to know who/what you're really voting for then where do you start?

There's plenty of online quizzes which give a good indication of where your views might lie in relation to political ideologies. This was my result, for example:

Essentially, these sorts of things can show you the basics of ideals that you might like to follow. It's a good starting point to understanding politics of today.

In the UK, we have some main political parties: Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrats, UKIP, Green, BNP. They all throw around promises and crap to try and get votes. It's no wonder that a lot of people do not bother voting, they're tired of hearing false promises from white middle class men as leaders who cannot relate to the average population. It's frustrating! What can we do though? Well, we need to get people engaged with politics again. We need to help people learn about politics in a simple way. If more of us can engage then there is more of a chance for a wider variety of people to eventually get into power. Choosing not to vote is just another way of letting parties win that you do not want.

So take some time to do a little research. Use Google, use books, understand all the parties as well as you can. If you do not like any of them, then pick the one which is most aligned to your views. Do not let a lack of good choice leave you thinking you have no choice. If we continue, as a country, to not bother with voting then we will not be living in a true democracy and the government will never reflect our views. 

The situation we are in is not ideal. But we are fortunate enough to have the right to vote when a lot of people do not get that. So when the time comes, use it. And if you're really fed up with the parties then look into starting your own!

Politics might seem dull and something only for middle class men. It will continue to be this way unless more people engage and take an interest. It can change but it will take a whole lot of people to take action.