KUSU are launching a campaign to tackle student disillusion with politics, and to encourage their wider participation in the election.

The scheme should be running by April and it seeks to educate students about the political issues which appeal to them, rather than subjects tackled by MPs which may deter them from voting.

TJ Esubiyi – KUSU President said: “The reason KUSU wants to get students involved is to use the student voice to let the Government know that they simply MUST do more than give a cursory glance to the student opinion. There is a real chance that there will be a hung parliament after the elections and for the first time in a very long time the students voice could actually be a deciding factor."

 There are around 20,000 students at Kingston; a large enough body to make a considerable impact in the election. However, there is a general impression that KU students are disillusioned by the prospect of voting for an MP who does not represent them.

Hassan Barakat, VP for Media at KUSU explained: “I think it is partly to do with where people are from, the way London is spread out. There are a lot of boroughs and this can lead to young people becoming disenfranchised. With a divide between ethnic groups, comes a lack of unity. I think these areas affect students here.”

Mark Horne, General Manager at KUSU said: “At a uni like Kingston, students often make up a large amount of the populace, and there is often strong “anti” university feeling amongst local residents. It is important for students to engage and have a voice about the area where they live.”

KUSU hope to find out the political issues which appeal and frustrate students. These could be minor local issues such as travel card rates, or parking fines or large scale world issues such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“We want inspirational speakers to inform students about why so much money is being spent on the wars, and what is actually happening on the front line. We want to educate students about the issues which MPs do not address, and tell them the truth,” said Mr Barakat.

 “We have started a small working group, and we hope to use a variation of methods from print media, posters flyers, as well on-line methods like face book to publicise the campaign. We are networking with other universities to try and get advice about how best to approach this,” he added.