EXPLORING ELECTIONS
WHAT IS THIS ASSEMBLY ABOUT?
● The point and purpose of voting in elections
● How to have your voice heard in decisions that affect you
● How to register to vote and how to vote in elections
WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU HEAR THE WORD “POLITICS”?
What is the first word that comes to your mind when you are thinking about politics?
HOW DOES POLITICS AFFECT ME NOW?
Here are some recent headlines about issues that affect young people. What do you think?
● ‘Labour to scrutinise school smartphone bans as pressure grows over impact on teenagers’
(The Guardian, 21st March 2025)
● ‘Tuition fees in England and Wales rise to £9,535’
(BBC News, 1st August 2025)
● ‘Sixteen and 17-year-olds will be able to vote in next general election’
(Sky News, 17th July 2025)
Politics has already played a large role in your lives.
HOW WILL POLITICS AFFECT ME IN THE FUTURE?
Here are some recent headlines about issues that may affect you in the future.
What do you think?
● ‘Self-driving cars set for UK roads as government prepares new rules’
(MSN, 21st July 2025)
● ‘Artificial Intelligence will completely change our lives’
(The Guardian, 12th May 2023)
● ‘How climate change worsens heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and floods’.
(BBC, 19th September 2023)
As you leave college, a range of new and familiar issues will impact on you as you move onto your next steps.
This means it is important that your voice is heard when decisions are made about topics like these.
How can you get those making the decisions to listen to you?
HOW WILL POLITICS AFFECT ME IN THE FUTURE?
Some more headlines:
‘UK rent rises forecast to outpace wage growth for three years’ (The Guardian, 8th April 2024)
‘How much have the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage gone up?’ (BBC, 1st April 2025)
As you leave college, a range of new and familiar issues will impact on you as you move onto your next steps.
This means it is important that your voice is heard when decisions are made about topics like these.
How can you get those making the decisions to listen to you?
HOW CAN I GET POLITICIANS TO LISTEN TO ME?
You can use your voice in lots of different ways to campaign on issues that matter to you.
For example, you can write to politicians or sign a petition about an issue you feel strongly about. A powerful way to get politicians to listen to your views and opinions is by voting in elections.
Elections in Wales
WHO CAN VOTE IN UK ELECTIONS?
How old do you need to be to vote in a UK election?
If you live in Wales, there are different ages for different elections. You need to be 16 years old to vote in Local Council and Senedd elections. To vote in elections for UK MPs, you need to be 18. You can register to vote from 14 years old - more on that later!
WHO CAN VOTE IN UK ELECTIONS?
If you are a British citizen, an Irish citizen or a qualifying Commonwealth citizen, and over 18, you can vote in any election that takes place in your area.
If you are a qualifying foreign citizen or EU citizen living in Wales, over 16, you can vote in Senedd and local government elections. If you’re an EU citizen with retained rights or a qualifying EU citizen you can vote also vote in the Police and Crime Commissioner elections.
Not a British citizen? Click here to see if you are eligible to vote in UK elections.
If you’re not eligible to vote you can still participate by directly contacting the politicians who represent the area you live in. Check out writetothem.com to see who represents your area.
WHY DOES YOUNG PEOPLE VOTING MATTER?
Politics is about you and your voice. All votes count.
In the 2024 general election, around 37% of those aged 18 - 24 voted.
In the same election, around 73% of those aged 65 and over voted.
If young people like you do not vote, your voice may not be heard when important decisions are made about issues that affect you.
HOW DO I REGISTER TO VOTE?
To vote, you need to check your eligibility and register
https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
It only takes 5 minutes - you just need to fill in where you live, your date of birth, name, nationality and National Insurance number. You can register from 14 in Scotland and Wales, and from 16 in England and Northern Ireland.
Where do I find my National Insurance number - this should have been posted or emailed to you once you turned 16. If you have a job, it will be on your payslip. If you don’t have it don’t worry, you can register without it!
Go here to register to vote. It takes 5 minutes!
Go here to register to vote. It takes 5 minutes!
WAYS YOU CAN VOTE
WHAT DO I NEED TO VOTE IN PERSON?
To vote in person in elections for the UK Parliament or for Police and Crime Commissioners, you will need an accepted form of photo ID. This includes:
● UK driving licence (including provisional).
● A passport.
● A PASS proof of age card.
● Biometric immigration document.
● National Identity card issued by EEA state.
Not sure if you have the right ID?
You can see a full list of ID’s here.
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DON’T HAVE ID?
If you don’t have an accepted form of photo ID, you can apply for a free voter ID document, known as a Voter Authority Certificate.
You need to register to vote before applying for a Voter Authority Certificate.
You can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate here.
You will need your National Insurance number and a recent photo of yourself.
What if I can’t find my National Insurance number?
You can still apply. You can prove your identity through other documents, such as a birth certificate or bank statement.
WHERE CAN I FIND MORE INFORMATION?
When an election is taking place, you can find out more about candidates and parties standing in your area by visitinghttps://whocanivotefor.co.uk/
You can also get in touch with your local council about your local area by visiting - https://www.fixmystreet.com/
You can directly contact your local representatives athttps://www.writetothem.com/
WHERE CAN I FIND MORE INFORMATION?
You can check out Democracy Classroom - a shared hub of resources, training opportunities and events, designed to help teacher, youth workers and young people better understand democracy.
https://www.democracyclassroom.com/
The Democracy Classroom Partnership is made up of a range of organisations that span the youth, education and democracy sectors.
APPENDIX: KEY DATES FOR AN ELECTION
Voter Registration Deadline
Pre-election period begins 25 days before election 11:59pm, 12 working days before election
5pm, 11 working days before election 5pm, 6 working days before election Deadline to apply for Voter Authority
Certificate
Polls open 7am to 10pm
5pm, 6 working days before election
Postal Vote Deadline (to apply)
Proxy Vote Deadline (to apply)
Election Day
APPENDIX: COUNTRIES WHOSE CITIZENS ARE COMMONWEALTH CITIZENS
Antigua and Barbuda Cameroon Ghana Lesotho Namibia Saint Kitts and Nevis Solomon Islands Tonga
Australia Canada Grenada Malawi Nauru Saint Lucia South Africa Trinidad and Tobago
Bangladesh Cyprus* Guyana Malaysia New Zealand Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Sri Lanka Tuvalu
Barbados Dominica India Maldives Nigeria Samoa Tanzania Uganda
Belize Eswatini Jamaica Malta* Pakistan Seychelles The Bahamas United Kingdom
Botswana Fiji Kenya Mauritius Papua New Guinea Sierra Leone The Gambia Vanuatu
Brunei Gabon Kiribati Mozambique Rwanda Singapore Togo Zambia Zimbabwe
*Although also EU member states, citizens of Cyprus and Malta are eligible to be registered to vote in respect of all elections held in the UK.
APPENDIX: EU COUNTRIES WITH BILATERAL VOTING AGREEMENTS
Denmark
Luxembourg
Poland
Portugal
Spain
Anyone who is a citizen of these countries has the right to vote in local, Senedd and Police and Crime Crime Commissioner elections in England, regardless of their ‘leave to remain’ status.
APPENDIX: ALL OTHER EU COUNTRIES
Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia
Cyprus* Czech Republic Estonia Finland
France Germany Greece Hungary
Ireland* Italy Latvia Lithuania
Malta Netherlands Romania
Slovenia Sweden
Slovakia
All EU citizens can vote in local and Senedd elections in Wales. Anyone from these countries who has been legally resident in the UK since before the UK left the EU on 31/12/2020 can vote in Police and Crime Commissioner elections.
*Although EU member states, citizens of the Republic of Ireland, Cyprus and Malta are eligible to vote in all elections held in the UK.