DON'T LET DEMOCRACY DIE

This article is a duplicate of my Pensioners Platform column in the April-May 2014 edition of the Torbay Times:-

PENSIONER alert! This will not only be of interest to you, but also to everyone else over the age of 18 years. On Thursday May 22, many of us have an opportunity, through the ballot box, to express our support for, or abhorrence of, the European Union. There is no fence-sitting, don’t know option here: you either love the EU or you loathe it, and May 22 will give you the chance to register your opinion in a secret vote. That’s what democracy is supposed to be about.

But, what does democracy actually mean? Don’t worry, I won’t bore you with too much history, but the term originates from the 5^th Century B.C. Greek word demokratia which, in fact, is two words in one: demos (meaning people) and kratia (meaning power or rule). Yes, people power! That’s what John Lennon was singing about in his 1971 chart hit Power to the People.  Even longer ago, on November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address touched on the same theme when he ended his speech with, “Government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.”

While pondering the above musings by two celebrated thinkers, a searching question came into my mind. Is the “people power” known as democracy actually alive and well in the UK today? To be brutally honest, my response to that question was, and still is, a resounding, “No!” In fact, I’d even go as far as to say democracy is dying in Britain, and it has been doing so for quite a few years.

So, why do I believe democracy has fallen on such hard times? In short, I feel, we, the voting public must take much of the blame, because far too many of us have neglected our inalienable right to vote. For far too long, voter turn-outs have been allowed to fall to alarmingly low levels, even for general elections. The result is we’ve, all too often, ended-up with MPs and local councillors who are in-place thanks to the abject apathy of those who didn’t bother to vote. Indeed, that might be exactly what some of today’s politicians want. An irony, however, lies in the fact that it’s the very people who can’t be bothered to vote who are, invariably, the first to complain when legislation and cut-backs start to bite.

How, then, can we go about rectifying this problem? Well, the politicians could, perhaps, adopt the Australian system which compels all those entitled to vote, to do so, or face a fine. Alternatively, the powers-that-be could start exploring the wide range of technologies that might easily be utilised in the voting process: in particular our home telephones and mobile phones. But these are just floated ideas, because all we’ll have at our disposal on May 22 are the archaic polling station and rickety voting booth set-up, plus the postal or proxy vote. Not exactly twenty-first century is it?

Another stumbling block is voter apathy. Many of us will have overheard someone say, “I don’t vote, because my vote doesn’t make a difference.” But they’re wrong. Every vote, regardless of political motive, makes a difference by helping to keep democracy alive. Then there are those who think that not voting is a protest. It’s nothing of the sort! If you want to make a protest: get into the voting booth and deliberately spoil your voting slip by scrawling “I don’t trust any of you!” across it. Now, that’s what you call a protest. And that’s what underpins the democratic ethos … people power. Not voting is not a protest, it’s a cop-out, so get out there and exercise your right to vote on May 22, or forfeit the right to whine and whinge when the politicians tighten their grip on your lives.

For those of you who are genuinely unable to get out and vote … maybe through disability … if your name is on the Electoral Role, you have a right to request a postal or proxy vote. All you need to do is make contact with the Elections Office at Torbay Council on 01803 208008, and request an application form for a postal or proxy vote for the European elections on May 22. You will need to get your completed application form back to Torbay Council by 5 pm on Wednesday May 7, 2014. Your voting slip(s) will then be delivered to you approximately one week before the day of the election.

Please help to keep democracy alive. Vote on May 22. It’s your right!