8 July 2024
Writing: Edward (Year 12)
Photography: Creator: WD Stock Photos | Credit: Shutterstock, Copyright: Copyright (c) 2024 WD Stock Photos/Shutterstock
Editing: Prajesh (Year 12)
In 2019, Challoner’s delivered a Liberal Democrat majority government in its mock election, defying its true blue surroundings, the Home Counties – Conservative as far as the eye could see. Five years on, the ‘blue wall’ which has stood for over a century in the leafy environs of London was demolished, with dozens of seats in capital’s commuter belt falling to the Liberal Democrats (no doubt charmed by their paragliding maverick of a leader, Sir Ed Davey).
In Challoner’s, we have waited with bated breath; will the school replicate this result and elect five more years of the Lib Dems? Feverish speculation abounded – could Challoner’s be hit by a populist wave, with Reform swept to power? On polling day, many loudly proclaimed their intention to vote Reform in public, though the intonation of many of these declarations, as well as the fact of their usual succession by laughter, called into question how many of these voters were truly expressing their support for the politics of Nigel Farage…and how many were casting their vote for Reform as an act of jest. But, at 13:30, the polls closed and the time for febrile supposition was at an end – it was time to count the votes.
In the end, Challoner’s voted for another Liberal Democrat majority government, with 20 out of 34 forms opting for the incumbents. Reform UK, the Greens and the Conservatives were elected in 9, 3 and 2 forms respectively. Labour did not prevail in any form. In the popular vote, the margin between the Lib Dems and the runners up, Reform, was 10 percentage points (about the same as the margin in the UK General Election between Labour and the Conservatives).
The voting patterns varied wildly year-to-year. While Year 7 voted Lib Dem, an astonishing 23%, as well as a plurality of two forms, voted Conservative; clearly, fears of a Starmer supermajority and £2,094 of tax increases cut through amongst this tiny demographic. Year 8 voted convincingly for the Liberal Democrats; in the popular vote, they were 25 points clear of Reform. Year 9 was a dead heat, with the Lib Dems and Reform taking just under 40% of the vote each. As for Year 10, well, I think the picture of the gloomy faces during the counting of Year 10 votes painted a thousand words… Nigel Farage won 46% of the vote in Clacton, and his party won 46% of the vote in Year 10 (almost 20 points ahead of the Lib Dems). Complemented by an appalling voter turnout of 56.5%, the Year 10 votes didn’t exactly inspire optimism… Anyway, don’t get your hopes up for next year’s GCSE results! Moving swiftly on, Year 12 voted Lib Dem in their plurality but a staggering 21% voted Green! If these Green voters tactically join the Lib Dem plurality in voting Liberal Democrat in next year’s Bucks Council elections, perhaps the votes of this progressive cohort will be the local Tories’ doom. We shall see!
It would be remiss if I did not conclude by paying tribute to the efforts of the History and Politics Department in organising as part of the election: an opinion poll, a leaders’ debate, an assembly about the importance of voting, a form time information session about the different parties’ policies, the analysis of the results which was instrumental in writing this article. The Department was joined by student volunteers to deliver the vote itself and the count.