The UK General Election May 2015: THE CANDIDATES

Who is who?

These are the main candidates. Can you name any?

DAVID CAMERON

DOB (date of birth):09/11/1966Position/party: Prime Minister, leader of the Conservative PartyPrivate life: Married to Samantha, daughter of a baronet; 3 young children.Beliefs: On the right, believes in free trade, believes that cuts have to be made to public services to reduce the national debt. Promises: £80 billion to the NHS; maintain Trident.Criticised for: Being a ‘toff’. He is very posh and went to a top public school, Eton.

Ed Miliband

DOB: 24/12/1969Position/party: Leader of the Labour Party/Leader of the Opposition.Private life: married to Justine, a lawyer; two young sons.Beliefs: Left- wing, wants to support the workers and tax high earners. Wants to reduce the spending cuts.Criticised for: Being a geek, looking like Wallace.Promises: Raise the minimum wage, support the NHS (National Health Service).

Nick Clegg

DOB: 07/01/1967Position/party: Deputy Prime Minister, leader of the Liberal Democrats.Private life: Married to Miriam Gonzales-Durantez, a Spanish lawyer; two young children.Beliefs: More equal taxation; better public services, would reduce the spending cuts. Promises: Support the NHS, make people with expensive houses pay more tax; reduce the spending cuts. Criticised for: Being in a coalition with the Tories.

Nicola Sturgeon.

She was born on the nineteenth of July, 1970, in Scotland. She was recently elected as the leader of the SNP (Scottish National Party). She is married and has no children. She leads a party who would like to see an independent Scotland. She wants to scrap Trident (the nuclear deterrent) and have the people at the top paying more tax. She is criticised by people south of the border for wanting to split up the UK.

Nigel Farage.He was born on the third of April, 1964 in England. He

is the leader of UKIP (United Kingdom Independence Party). He is married to a German woman and has two daughters. He keeps his family out of the public eye and has a ‘blokey’ image.

This is a right wing party whose main aim is to get the UK out of Europe, partly in order to reduce immigration. He is criticised for being racist and for not liking foreigners. He insists it is right to put British people first.

Natalie BennettShe was born on the tenth of February, 1966 in Australia. She lives with her partner in London and has no children. She is the leader of the Green Party. This party wants to raise taxes and get rid of Trident. They would like to get rid of ‘dirty fuel’ and have more renewable energy sources. They believe that you can spend your way out of a recession and would like to see an end to the cuts. They support conservation.

Leanne Wood

She was born on the 13th of December, 1971 in Wales. She is the leader of the Welsh Nationalist Party, Plaid Cymru (pronounced Ply-eed Kumree). She has a partner and a teenage daughter. This party believes that Wales should get much more money from the UK pot. They want equal treatment with Scotland. They would like to raise the taxes of high earners and get rid of Trident. Some people make fun of Leanne’s Welsh accent.

Who is who?

Now can you name the candidates?

Answer TRUE or FALSE.

1) David Cameron is currently the prime minister of the UK. 2) Nicola Sturgeon wants Scotland to stay in the UK.3) Ed Miliband wants to reduce taxes for people on high

incomes.4) Natalie Bennett supports ‘dirty fuel’.5) Nigel Farage wants an ‘open door’ policy for immigrants.6) Nick Clegg is currently the deputy prime minister, in

coalition with the Conservative Party.7) Leanne Woods is leader of Plaid Cymru.8) The general election in the UK will take place in June 2015

Tasks1) How old is each of the candidates?2) Who is the oldest and who is the youngest?3) Write up a short paragraph for David, Ed and Nick.3) Put Nigel, Natalie, Leanne and Nicola’s details onto the grid.

Name:DOB:Age:Nationality:Position and party:Private life:Beliefs:Criticised for:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLPEJPVkONw