Southport Mp – Students are sleepwalking into a ‘Brexit’

by
24th May 2016

Students could be sleepwalking into an unwanted ‘Brexit’ result if not properly registered says John Pugh MP

Students are sleepwalking into a ‘Brexit’ decision without being able to have their say. Whilst three quarters of students feel that the upcoming referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU will have a significant impact on their future, many are unaware that they are not even registered to vote on June 23rd, or even that the referendum is on June 23rd.

The Referendum falls out of term-time for universities, putting students at risk of not being able to vote if they are not correctly registered. Research conducted by YouthSight on behalf of Universities UK shows that over half of eligible students in the North West of England do not know where they will be on the date of the referendum, whilst only 13% have applied for a Postal Vote.

John Pugh MP describes the Referendum as a “once in a lifetime vote” and says that “if you’re not registered, you’ll be able to do nothing about it”. NUS Vice President Richard Brooks said “The decision made on the 23 June will impact young people and students the most, as they are the ones that will live with the consequences for the longest. If students don’t want their future decided for them, it is essential that as many as possible get out and vote.”

Voter registration changed in 2014, meaning that eligible voters must register to vote individually and cannot rely on automatic registration like before. Students who are registered at their term-time address but who are at home or elsewhere on the day of the referendum should ensure they have a postal vote or are registered at their home address as well.

Last week, John Pugh met with Universities UK and backed the #GenerationEUVote campaign to ensure students register before the deadline on the 7th of June. You can register to vote online at gov.uk/register-to-vote, it takes only 3 minutes to register in time for the Referendum, and all you need is your National Insurance Number.

 

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