Vote for Policies 2017

Aim

The more people that use our website before the election, the more people will vote - and know what they're voting for. Please support us.

It's election time again - let's get to work!

Right! Election time has come again (a bit quicker than anticipated…) and there is no time to waste.

We know that feeling more informed through using Vote for Policies is a great way to increase turnout - in 2015 a national poll found that 35% of the population would be more likely to vote after using our service and now, more than ever, we need to ensure that voters are as informed as possible before they take to the ballot boxes on the 8th June.

We’ve all been taken a little by surprise but since the announcement, I’ve been searching for developers who can help to get the Vote for Policies website up and make some crucial changes. It will be tight but I’m confident we can turn this around in time.

The manifestos will be released by the parties in the next few weeks and we want to be ready for them. I urgently need your help to pay for hosting and developer time to archive the old site, add the new manifestos and streamline the process so that it is quicker and easier to use.

We did this in 2010 and 2015 and the survey has been completed nearly 2 million times. We need your help to reach even more people in the run up to the 8th June. We don’t have much time - but together we can do it!

Please help Vote for Policies to help more people to vote, and make an informed choice about what they're voting for.

Remember, this really works!

The same national poll that found that 35% of the population are more likely to vote after using Vote for Policies discovered that 20% of users would reconsider who to vote for. That means this really works. The more people we reach, the more people will vote and make their voice heard - and know what they're voting for.

And that's why we urgently need your help. 

Why policies first - not personalities?

We believe voting has to start with the policies - not personalities - so that voters can make an informed, unbiased decision about who to vote for. That’s why we help users compare actual policies, but without knowing which party they belong to. Not only do most people find they have chosen policies from more than one party - over half find the results surprising too.

There may be other Voter Advice Applications (VAAs) up in time which provide users with a quiz with yes/no answers. They will ask for your response on questions like “Should we use nuclear energy?”. These sites are helpful - and we recommend you try them all - but they don’t give you the chance to compare the actual policies of each party, and in their own language. 

Who we are and our values

As those of you know who have already given your support, Vote for Policies is non-partisan and run by volunteers. What you may not know is that it's actually managed by just one volunteer, has no funding, and no web team. That's why I so urgently need your help to ensure we can pay for updates to the website, and help promote it across the UK, regardless of age, location, income, or political preference. I especially want to reach those people who feel marginalised by politics, and as a result are less inclined to vote. Together, we can make a difference.

What your money will do

Thanks to so many of you who supported Vote for Policies in 2015, we have a great site that can handle lots of users, so what do I need your support for now?

• Get the website '2017 ready’. As a minimum, we need to do some core work to get the site ready, archive the 2015 results, update the postcode and MP data, and load the new policies. The hosting costs will also be big (£2k-3k).
• Promote the site. Beyond the phenomenal sharing that you supporters already do, a modest budget can help pay for some advertising and promotion online to reach those who are less inclined to vote, and first time voters. It can also help provide expenses for more volunteers to actively promote Vote for Policies and get more supporters on board.
• Improve the site. If there was one thing we could do it would be make it quicker for people to read through the policies. That doesn't just mean making the policies more succinct (they will be!), it means making the selection process quicker by removing one of the steps. This could make it much more accessible, and help us reach more people. There's more we want to do too, so the more you can give the better.

For any of this to happen, we have to move fast. The crucial work has to start now to get the site ready for mid May, so if you'd like to support us please donate now.

Thank you for your support.

Matt Chocqueel-Mangan

One last thing...
Oh, and if you’d like to get involved or help out in other ways, please get in touch with me and follow Vote for Policies on Twitter and Facebook for updates.

This project successfully funded on 9th May 2017