Edinburgh cafe giving out free coffee on election day to encourage voting participation

An Edinburgh cafe is giving away free coffee tomorrow to encourage people to get out and vote.

Stag Espresso, which operates out of a hatch window at Stag Barber Co's branch at 10 Haymarket Terrace is hoping the caffeine will fuel people to take part in their democratic rights.

Let us know what you think and join the conversation at the bottom of this article.

Stag Espresso, which operates out of a hatch window at Stag Barber Co's branch at 10 Haymarket Terrace is hoping the caffeine will fuel people to take part in their democratic rights.

Owner of Stag Espresso Bridget Honan said: “Being Australian where voting is compulsory, I feel really passionately that everyone should be participating in the election.

To get involved simply turn up to the window anytime from 8:30am to 4:30pm and get your coffee on the house regardless of your political allegiance.

“Even if your ideal party doesn’t win, voting shows politicians what issues are important to the public. If we want the things we care about to be funded or reduce budget cuts we really need to be showing up at the ballot box.

“If young people don’t vote you can see the knock on effect in issues that affect us low minimum wages or education costs.”

Stag Espresso which opened in July of last year uses beans from local roaster Cairngorm Coffee.

Bridget, who picked up her barista experience in her coffee mecca hometown of Melbourne was inspired by the country's own cultural quirks.

She added: "In Australia we have something called a sausage sizzle so you always get a free sausage in bread at the voting centre on election day.

"You can smell the sausages from miles off and i honestly think it reminds people to vote so I guess this is my take on that.”

To get involved, turn up to the window anytime from 8:30am to 4:30pm and get your coffee on the house regardless of your political allegiance.

“Although I'd love if everyone voted the way I’m going to, to me the winner is democracy,” Bridget says.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.