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Who knows best?
It’s a familiar problem: the London mayoral election is just days away, but you don’t know who to vote for.
One group claims to have the answer: today sees the launch of Vote Match – a program that matches your views with those of the candidates.
It’s the product of campaigning website Unlock Democracy, and part of an attempt to get the public to reengage with the political process.
Agree, Disagree or Neither
Unlock Democracy’s Press and Communications Officer James Graham explained: “Vote Match is a quiz of 25 statements that you go through and then we match your answers with the candidates themselves.”
Naomi reads English and Drama at Goldsmiths College in South London. Her research prior to today has been looking through the elections booklet, and that has led her to the Green Party.
But will Vote Match uphold that decision?
25 questions later: “Oh!” says Naomi, “the U-K-I-P.”
Getting out of the EU didn’t seem on her mind: is this result a surprise? “Not really – they’re weren’t many questions about Green issues.”
Mainstream v Single Issue
Whilst it might draw your attention to other candidates, Naomi does raise an important caveat: does Vote Match favour the single-issue party over Ken, Boris and Brian?
“Yes, sometimes it might favour the Congestion Charge Party” says Graham, “but what it also does is to force those parties to come up with policy positions on other issues as well.
“So it’s the candidate with the broadest basket of policies that have tended to come out the best.”
At any rate, Naomi’s friends are a stark warning of what Unlock Democracy is up against: “None of them are voting. If people have decided not to vote, they’re not going to.”
