As you probably know today is the General Election, a time when we get to decide how the country is run over the next 5 years.

After 6 long weeks of campaigning, the wait is over. The talk has stopped and we will can to vote on the issues.

We’re not here to endorse any political party or philosophy just purely to convince you why you need to go and vote today.

So why is it important that you go and vote on today?

For a start it is your democratic right to vote. In the UK we get a say on how our country is run, some people round the world don’t have this right and the leadership is passed between members of the same family. Although both systems have their merits, our system has given us the right to vote, therefore use it.

Another reason why it is important to vote is that it actually does make a difference. You may think otherwise but it actually does. For example in the Northern Ireland at the last General Election in 2010 the constituency of Fermanagh and South Tyrone, the winning candidate had a majority of 4. That is 4 voters who decided to choose one candidate over another. 4 people who made the difference between a party being elected and not. That is how much of an impact your vote could have.

If a seat can be won by 4 votes in Northern Ireland how about in England. In the marginal seat of Hampstead and Kilburn there were 841 votes between the candidate who won and the candidate who finished third. If a result can be that close that is why you should vote and why it matters.

Even closer to home here in Sheffield a constituency was won by just 165 votes. 165 votes is half a lecture theatre. 165 votes is one block of your student accommodation. 165 votes is the difference between political parties. 165 votes is why your vote matters as it makes a difference.

It is not just the thought of your vote not making a difference that you should vote. The percentage of 18-25 years olds voting at the last election in 2010 was 62%. That figure is predicted to go down this year due to young people either not being interested in politics, thinking their vote won’t make a difference or simply not agreeing with ideas of the parties standing. As a young voter, you should be more interested in politics now than at any other time as a lot of issues that affect young people will be decided by the result of the General Election.

In order to stress the importance of voting, especially amongst young people, the TV channel E4 will be shut down today until 7pm in order to encourage people to vote. This move is a landmark for UK television as never before has a TV channel shut down for an entire day so people can vote. That is how important voting is. If a TV channel can make this unprecedented step of closing down for a day and losing vital viewing figures then that tells you how important it is to go out to vote!

You may have other questions about the voting process and what to do in certain situations such as in a polling station. The following BBC articles will help you with some FAQs to the election http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-32451429, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-32235317.

Sheffield Hallam Student’s Union also have information about the General Election on their website http://www.hallamstudentsunion.com/your_union/democracy/generalelection/

Don’t forget that on Friday 8^th May, Sheffield Hallam University will be streaming the results live on the plasma screens in Cutting Edge and Heart of the Campus.

May 7th 2015, the day that your voices can be heard and you can make the difference!