I doubt it has escaped your knowledge that this year there is a general election. Indeed, two of my fellow PPE graduates from 2014 are standing for election this year, and I wish them all the best.
I have voted since I was 18. When I was nine, I used to write to Prime Ministers. I love politics. It was the subject I enjoyed the most at university. At the moment though, it's fair to say that I feel completely disillusioned with politicians. Not politics. The actual politics which goes on I enjoy, but I have lost my faith in politicians. I am in a minority because I actually am a member of a political party. This doesn't help much though. The constant requests for donations is pretty soul destroying and, in all honesty, put me off donating money (not that I currently have any to give away).
I spend my day with my children, I see their petty squabbles, their one-upmanship and their jibes at each other. I don't want to tune into Prime Ministers Questions and see grown men and women behave exactly the way that I am trying to teach my children not to. I genuinely don't care who let us down. I hate seeing members of parliament jeer, shout, laugh and belittle each other. I think Prime Ministers Questions does politics no favours at all. In fact, most of the media coverage of Parliament and MPs doesn't show politics in a good light. Politicians do a lot of good, it's such a shame that the vast majority of the times we see them, it is when they are behaving like children, or have had some scandal associated with them.
The build up to this election is 'hotting up', each party is belittling the other, emphasising what awful mistakes they have made in the past. Pointing out how their proposed policies are uninformed and how much better the public would be under their own policies. I am fed up with it. To be honest, differences between policies are much of a muchness these days, and it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between the generic main parties.
I have worked in the NHS, the prison service and at the BBC. I have seen first-hand how government policies impact on people. Indeed, around eighteen months ago I was made redundant from the NHS when cost cutting meant the Trust I worked for decided they no longer needed Medical Secretaries.
Previous governments, irrespective of their party, have failed all of us to a certain extent. The country is in an economic mess, no matter how many cuts are made. Keynesian economics has not worked and our country needs to adapt, change and grow. We have so much wasted potential as a nation.
I think local politics differs. You can have a real impact locally. Our MP is fantastic and although I disagree with his party, he has done an awful lot for the area. He even did his best to help me out in my first year at university when I was struggling with student finance.
What do I want to see from politicians? Surprisingly very little. All I ask for is honesty, maturity, decisiveness, integrity and reliability.
This year, for the first time ever, I don't feel like I want to vote. I am someone who has always been active in politics and I find this incredibly disappointing.
What do you think? Will you be voting in this election, and what are your thoughts on politicians?
