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Lib Dems triumph in mock election
Students at LVC have defied the national trend by voting for a Liberal Democrat to represent them.
Chloe Devlin, 15, won 194 votes, or just over 60 per cent of the total, in a mock election held on the same day as the general election on 6 May. In second place was Penny Malpass for the Conservatives with 84 votes, followed by Labour candidate Frank Omand Lewis with 42 votes.
All students in the school were entitled to vote and the turnout was around 40 per cent.
On the day of the election, Chloe received a message of support from Jonathan Chatfield, Liberal Democrat candidate for South East Cambridgeshire, who took time out from his campaign to send her an e-mail recalling his memories of standing in a mock election at school.
‘I feel that the Liberal Democrats are the future of British politics so I am glad that my campaign managed to reach out to young people,’ said Chloe.
‘A general election only comes around every few years and this was a fantastic opportunity to engage our young people in politics,’ said Caroline Derbyshire, principal of LVC. ‘Our students care passionately about the world around them and it is important for them to stand up for what they believe in, to debate issues such as education and the economy, and to take part in the democratic process – particularly as many of them will be old enough to vote by the time of the next election. It was wonderful to see the long queue of pupils waiting to vote when the polling station opened on Thursday morning. Congratulations to all of the candidates for taking part and expressing their views so eloquently.’
