Kasz216 on 18 March 2009
| SamuelRSmith said: Well, to run for a seat, you need to make a deposit (I'm not 100% sure, but it's in the thousands of pounds per seat, to prevent extremist parties), so you'll need to raise the funds for that. If you get over a certain percentage of votes (which is dependant on how many people are running for that seat), you'll get the deposit back. Once you've paid the deposit, you're entitled to free delivery of leaflets to every house in the seats you've paid for via the Royal Mail, and you're also entitled to the same amount of TV time as every other political party (which is also free - you're not allowed to pay for extra time, though, so no 30 minute ads like Obama had). After that, you just need to rally up support and get elected. You need to write a manifesto outlying everything you want to do, or you won't have the mandate to get anything through Parliament. The best route to take is to join a party that's closest to your political beliefs, and run for election through them, that way you don't have to worry about the deposit, TV ads, etc. You'll also get to know the ropes, and your constituency will be more inclined to vote you in again as an independent, or as a member of your new party, if you served them well under a known party. You'll also have to consider that becoming an MP isn't everything, you also have to think about Mayoral and/or Assembly elections (depending on where you live), council elections, and party elections (if your party doesn't like you, they will strip you of your leadership. Being a PM, or not (read: Thatcher)). |
You don't get your money back if you lose your political support. Well thats a kick in the pants.
