The Hallifordian - 2016-2017

33 Much like the mood of the country at the thought of going to the polls yet again, Election Day at Halliford dawned rainy and miserable. However nothing could dampen the enthusiasm of our can- didates for election. They had worked hard over previous weeks to prepare speeches to deliver in as- sembly which would inform the school of the party’s manifestos and fire up their enthusiasm to get their vote. The boys seeking a mandate to form a gov- ernment at Halliford were: Adam Baxendale, (10W: Conservative), Louis Mercer (9R: UKIP), Charlie Poulter and Dominic Rose (8W: jointly representing the Liberal Democrats), Armaan Alavi (10D: Green Party) and Finlay Angel-Wells (10D: Labour). On the day the appalling weather conditions and train cancellations meant that Ben Holmes (8R) stepped into the breach as a late replacement for Dominic. After a series of confident speeches to the school by our candidates, and an explanation of the British electoral system by Mr McMillan, ballot boxes were set up and the voting took place at break and lunchtime. Turnout was good at 63% (with 10Wwinning the prize for best turnout at 87%), vot- ing was brisk, and despite some attempts at voter intimidation, we managed to maintain the integrity of the secret ballot. Various boys enthusiastically exercised their right to spoil their ballots by publicly voting Trump… The ballots were counted and verified: the school was on tenterhooks and Year 9 were confi- dently predicting a UKIP victory - they had voted UKIP en masse in support of their classmate. Mrs Wilbraham started by explaining the results of the country’s general election and the difference the minority parties, who of course had not been repre- sented in our election, had made to the national re- sult. Then it was on to the Halliford results. Labour, the Green Party and the Conservatives were placed fifth, fourth and third and after an enthusiastic drum- roll from the school, the winners were announced: the Liberal Democrats had squeaked past UKIP by a handful of votes! In dramatic contrast to the nation- al result, liberalism and moderation had triumphed at Halliford. Turnout Number of eligible voters 259 Number of votes cast 163 % turnout in election 63% Highest turnout Number of eligible voters 16 Number of votes cast 14 % turnout in election 87.5% Form with highest turnout 10W Party % of votes Liberal Democrats 26.8% UKIP 24.7% Conservative 23.2% Green 18.4% Labour 4.12% Mrs Wilbraham, History Department Halliford Mock Election Oliver Hume, Year 7 casts his vote in the Halliford Mock Election, June 2017. Voting was consistently high!