Attention Soton students: Your vote could swing the General Election

For some University of Southampton and Solent students, your vote could swing the upcoming General Election.

VICE have analysed polling data to find the UK universities in the most marginal Tory seats – and Soton is one of them.

The constituency Southampton Itchen was won by the Tories by just 31 votes in the 2017 General Election, and three re-counts were needed to be sure. The second-biggest party here in 2017 was Labour.

Southampton Itchen covers some of the city centre – Mayflower Halls, The Polygon and Bedford Place are all part of it. You can check which constituency you live in here.

According to VICE, if enough students register to vote and then actually vote in Soton (rather than at home), they could upseat the current Tory MP and maybe even decide the outcome of the election.

The General Election is on Thursday 12th December – Southampton’s end of term is the 14th and Solent’s is the 16th. If you’re planning on heading home before the end of term, you can apply for a postal vote to vote in Soton: Every single vote really does count.

The rest of Southampton

If you don't live in Southampton Itchen, it's still important to vote and make sure your voice is heard. The other Soton constituencies are Southampton Test and Romsey and Southampton North.

Southampton Test covers Portswood and some of Highfield, and is where many University of Southampton students live. It was won with a strong Labour majority in the 2017 General Election.

Romsey and Southampton North includes some of Highfield, Glen Eyre and Wessex Lane. It was won with a strong Tory majority in the 2017 General Election.

How will Soton students vote?

Earlier this week, The Soton Tab revealed that Southampton is the second-most Brexit Party university in the UK.

The Tab’s snap election survey asked over 2,000 UK students how they’re planning to vote in the General Election. It revealed that 5.77 per cent of Soton students are planning on voting Brexit Party.

The most popular party amongst Soton students are the Lib Dems, with 28.85 per cent of us saying we'll be voting for them.

25 per cent of Soton students are planning on voting for Labour and another 25 per cent for the Tories. 11.54 per cent of us are voting Green.

Don't forget to register to vote!

Register by 11:59pm on 26th November in order to vote in the General Election on December 12th. If you want a postal vote the deadline is 5pm on the 26th.

Featured image credit: SWNS