My First Time…Voting!

We asked some of the Council’s friends and supporters to take part and help raise the profile of the local elections whilst encouraging people to get out and vote this year.

In the video you see cheeky Comedian Tez Ilyas opening with a quip about his ‘first time’ followed by The Apprentice star and business consultant Camilla Ainsworth, Mark Felix, World’s Strongest Man athlete, and influencer Ali Afzal talking about their experiences at the polls.

They were joined by the The Wish Centre’s Chief Executive Shigufta Khan and BBC presenter, Jay Flynn, creator of the internationally renowned Virtual Quiz, Hasina Bangi, baker and wedding cake creator extraordinaire, Thomas Macpherson-Pope, Director of the Making Rooms and our very own Sally Booth, the Council’s Environmental Education Officer.

They all agreed to get involved in the concept by sharing their ‘First Time’ experiences, calling on residents to vote in this year’s local elections.

Students studying at Blackburn College took part in a Blackburn with Darwen elections workshop aimed at focusing on increasing first time voter turn-out.

They came up with some great suggestions and said messaging should look to ‘less traditional methods’ of sharing information to help to help create a buzz around voting.

Based on their feedback, the video was created and is being launched using TikTok, Instagram and other popular social media platforms.

Tez, who presents a satirical comedy show that mixes sketches with current affairs, revealed his first time was in a school! He said:

It’s a bit personal… but if you wanna know how my first time was, check out the video. You don’t have to be as nervous as I was!
Good luck with your first time.

TVs The Apprentice star Camilla Ainsworth describes her first time being at Blackburn Gold Club, saying what many of the students said at the feedback session:

I was a little bit apprehensive because I feel like they don’t teach how to do it for the first time at school.

She added:

But actually my first time was pretty straightforward and I want people to realise there is nothing to worry about! It feels good to be involved and understand what all the hype is about and join in conversations surrounding the topic. It actually feels good to get out and vote.

I really hope young people and anyone who hasn’t voted before will be able to get involved and use their voices, it is a privilege that many do not have after all!

In the video Mark Felix, World Strongman competitor, also gave a rallying call to action:

Everyone who has the opportunity to do it, should do it.

Elections Returning Officer and Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council’s Chief Executive Denise Park said:

Firstly, I’d like to thank everyone who took part for being such good sports and getting behind the initiative.

We are always looking for new and creative ways to help engage residents in ways that push boundaries, to get people talking and to reach residents with information in different formats.

We hope that this helps to encourage more people to find out more information about voting, the process, to research the candidates and ultimately to remember to get out and vote on May 5th.

If it’s your first time this year, a handy guide has also been created to help explain the voting process.

You can also find out where your nearest polling station is and details of all the candidates that are up for election this year by visiting the Council website Elections section.