The political landscape may have turned blue outside the school gates, but it was the Green party who were in the pink when they swept the board at a Shirebrook school’s mock election.
It was the first time that a party other than Labour has emerged as the victor in Shirebrook Academy’s mock election, which is always held to coincide with the real-life version taking place across the UK.
More than half of the school’s students placed their votes into the school’s ballot boxes after a week-long contest involving a group of their classmates, who were allocated parties at random and then had to seek support from their peers.
Following a tightly fought election, the winner was announced as the school’s Green party, led by head boy Ben Madeley, whose eco-friendly campaign earned them 175 votes, ahead of the Labour candidate on 111.
The Conservative Party received 58 votes with the Brexit Party close behind with 56.
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Tracy Horton, the school’s personal development co-ordinator who runs the mock election as part of its citizenship curriculum, said: “The Green candidates ran a very persuasive campaign, so while this is the first time the Greens have ever beaten Labour, their win was unsurprising.
“We were very pleased with the turnout. There was a real buzz around the school and it was a great opportunity to get students thinking about the issues that matter to them.”
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