Remember the Electoral Commission’s ads in 2005 which showed cartoons of people saying, “I don’t do politics” and then complaining about pub closing times, or roadworks, or investment in sport? The tagline was “Politics affects almost everything, so if you don’t do politics, there’s not much you do do.”
Recent indications are that voters are not intending to turn out in great numbers at this coming election (I’ve heard that currently, 44 per cent are certain to vote, against 55 per cent at the same time before the 2005 election), and that ‘others’ are scoring higher in voting intention polls than ever before.
There are many reasons for this, I’m sure: MPs’ expenses, a feeling of powerlessness in the face of government bureaucracy, that someone lives in what is seen as a safe seat, that it won’t make any difference… But all of these reasons have what I would argue are equally compelling rebuttals.
- MPs expenses: you can vote out someone you believe fiddled their expenses. And many of the worst offenders are standing down. And a new parliament will have to implement a new regime. If you vote Conservative, you will get a Prime Minister who understands why this was such a toxic issue, and is determined to change the system so it’s transparent.
- Powerlessness: depending on who you vote for, you can take power back. If you vote Conservative, you will get the power to change things – today’s Big Society event has outlined how.
- Safe seats: if enough people vote (or change their vote) you can make a difference in what was seen as a safe seat. Michael Portillo would attest to that. And if you vote Conservative, you’ll get the power to recall MPs who don’t measure up to what the voters want.
- Making a difference: well, this one is really up to voters themselves. There is a choice at this election. It’s the first time we’ve had a real possibility of a change in government for over a decade. Voters have a real choice ahead of them, and if they want things to change, then they need to vote for it. And then after that, if they vote for the Conservatives, then they can make a difference in their own lives, but they will need to act as well to make that happen.
Politics works best when there is a real choice, when people are engaged, and perhaps most importantly when politicians are honest about what they want to achieve and what they can achieve. One vote won’t change the world. But the point of living in a democracy is that lots of us voting can.
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There ought to be a supplementary question on the ballot sheets: Are you better off or worse off after X years of Labour/Tory control.
Those who excoriate Mrs.T forget how much better off the vast majority were after her time.
Similarly, the vast majority will remember how much worse off they are after Gordon Brown