Many feel disillusioned with politics at the moment - but your vote is now more important than ever
It is more important than ever to have your say at the ballot box
History tells us that securing the right to vote was a hard-fought battle - but increasingly people are feeling more and more disengaged at a time when having a voice really matters.
Residents in Portsmouth and across Hampshire go to the polls on Thursday (May 6) in the local elections which will decide who will run the key services which we rely on every day. Social care, bin collections, dealing with potholes, the provision of schools and local services are all run by local councils and not central government.
So when the parties are on national television slugging it out over national issues over which local councils have no control it simply distracts would-be voters, and is far from helpful.
Of course, many use their vote to send the national parties a message in the hopes that this will put pressure on the government or other parties to change their thinking.
And this is exactly why the likes of Reform UK and the Green Party are predicted to do well this week, as well as the more nationalist parties in Wales and Scotland. There are many who feel these parties best align with their way of thinking at a time when many are simply fed up with the Labour and Conservatives bickering over many decades.
The Liberal Democrats could also do well too - seen as the more ‘centrist’ option at a time when there is a rise in the more ‘right wing’ and ‘left wing’ extremes. But no-one knows for sure as the outcome of Brexit proved with a more silent majority quietly voting and throwing out the polls.
So many of us just feel totally fed up with the high cost of living, the cuts to public services, crime and disorder and our changing communities. But focusing on the national picture can of course come at the expense of the local agenda and local issues.
Central government controls our councils’ purse strings which is the reason why so many of us have seen our local facilities cut or lost and our roads in disrepair - councils just do not have enough in the kitty.
But councils CAN decide how to spend what money that they have and what to prioritise. Local councillors CAN represent your views about the key every day, smaller things which matter to us all more than we think.
So make sure you vote for the candidate who you think will look after your local community the best and turn off the white noise of national politics if you can. Look at their track record and what they have spent your council tax on - and decided to do without.
Spoiling your ballot with a ‘none of the above’ statement at least shows an engagement if you really do not want to vote for anyone. And of course it will at least entitle you to a say if you are unhappy with the outcome.
But not even engaging or casting your vote is the worst thing you can do. Afterall, if you can’t be bothered to care about your community, how can we expect to elect councillors who do either?!