With the General Election looming, many could be forgiven for being a little confused about the current state of UK politics. Today there is even more talk of the prospect of a Hung Parliament, with no party gaining an absolute majority vote. We are being told the chances of a coalition are getting higher, but it's hard to know if this is just scare tactics to encourage people to vote for the bigger parties.

For residents of Richmond Park and Twickenham Constituencies, there is a handy set of explanations and documents on the Richmond Borough Council website, showing who's representing various parties and information on which polling stations you can vote at.


This won't help you make your decision however - there's nothing about party policies.
For those you'd have to visit each parties' website, or the BBC Guide to Party Election Policies seems to be as impartial as they can be.

There is also a great section on the BBC website that caters for the dumbstrucks like me, and the election gurus like my father-in-law (he despairs of me but tries politely not to show it).


For first time voters, there is lots of info on how the election works, including a simplified explanation on how a party can win an election with fewer votes than the opposition.  There's a link to a very useful guide to what a hung parliament means and how this might happen with the current election, leading to the possibility of a coalition and what this entails.

There's also some information to be had on parliament.co.uk



It's very hard to find independent advice on the main political issues like this, everyone in the media seems to have their own agenda. I have a sneaky feeling though that many of the average public will be voting with a gut instinct rather than any great faith in the party they give their vote to. Doesn't seem right somehow.




Silas Van Der Bas

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Silas Van Der Bas is a freelance writer and photographer with The Little White Studio.