After weeks of campaigning, the results of the Plymouth College mock election have awarded the Conservatives 39 out of a possible 45 seats in a theoretical Plymouth College parliament. Each tutor group represented a constituency as did the staff.
The Greens finished second with 4 seats, Labour came third with 2 seats while the Liberal Democrats finished empty handed. The result mirrors the tone of the national election which saw Conservative success at Liberal Democrat expense.
Over the preceding three weeks, students had been introduced to the range of political ideas on offer. Candidates for the local constituency addressed the Sixth Form over consecutive assemblies to present their cases. Oliver Colvile (Conservatives) focused on his achievements as the incumbent MP, Luke Pollard (Labour) spoke charismatically about the wealth and life expectancy gap across Plymouth. Graham Reed (Liberal Democrats) set his appeal into an historical context while Jonny Noades (Greens) called for a radical rethink of our established system.
Younger students enjoyed a TV-style leaders' debate between Sixth Formers representing the parties. Questions ranged from the serious “If I get injured in a sports match I have to wait over four hours in A&E - what are you going to do about it?” to the philosophical “If your party was an animal, which animal would it be?”
Head of History and Sixth Form, Ed Beavington, who was the school’s Returning Officer, said: “The mock election was held on general election day with over 600 staff and students taking part. Beyond being a fun brush with political ideas, it has also been an excellent introduction to the concept of democracy and how elections work in the UK.”
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