GE2015: Seven Reasons To Vote For The Pirate Party

I've been supporting the Pirate Party ever since I met the leader, Loz Kaye, in 2012, as he was on his way to an anti-ACTA rally. We need to get a Pirate into Parliament: the grovelling lickspittles we have now haven't got a clue about how to run the country, much less the internet. It's not an easy task, though.

Voting will be opening on 7th May at local polling stations. If you haven't decided on who to vote for yet, I can give you seven great reasons for voting Pirate.

1. Policies

Take time out to read our crowdsourced manifesto. You will find a broad range of policies that cover all the bases from the NHS and education through to foreign policy. We lean left-libertarian so tend to favour anything that benefits the public for the common good. P is also for privacy and patent law, which we want to see reformed so we're not paying over the odds for drugs we've already paid the research costs for.

2. Internet

The internet is a bit like the Force in Star Wars; it's everywhere, in everything. Your car, your mobile phone and many of your household appliances have computers in them and most of those are connected to the internet. Now think of the privacy implications; your every move is being tracked and the information sold or shared with a host of third parties. Do you STILL think it doesn't matter?

3. Rights

A host of rights that we've always had are being eroded one law at a time. Cuts to legal aid are making it harder to get a fair trial and equal representation under the law, for example. Our right to healthcare that is free at the point of delivery is also being dismantled due to increasing privatisation. The Pirate Party is constantly working to end discrimination against minorities; party leader Loz Kay was involved in the Safe to Sing events that raised awareness of hate crimes against the LGBT community.

4. Awareness

The Pirate Party is not a single issue party. We are aware of the needs of our communities and are active in working to meet them. Loz Kaye is a tireless campaigner for local causes and as he said at a recent hustings, if elected he would keep on doing what he does right now, he'd just have the power to be more effective.

5. Trust in democracy

Pirates insist on openness and accountability in government. This means FOI-able information would be made public by default, spending would be subject to scrutiny, and the public would be encouraged to become more involved in the democratic process.

6. Education 

Education would be free at every level; we would invest more in early years education and tuition fees for university would be scrapped. Local authorities would regain control over the schools and colleges in their areas. Open access to research papers would be enabled and encouraged.

7. Society

The Pirate Party wants a free and fair society where everyone can take part, with space to live, respect for all of our communities, and where basic human rights are the cornerstone. Intellectual property laws would be reformed to benefit the public as well as creators and innovators.

These are but a few of our policies. Read the manifesto to see what is in there. Remember to go out and vote on Thursday 7th May. Now ask yourself why you would even consider voting for any other party. I can't think of even one reason not to vote Pirate.