IT'S YOUR RIGHT ... USE IT

For those of you who weren't able to see my Pensioners Platform column in the March-April edition of South Devon's Torbay Times newspaper, here it is in its entirety:-

IN A FEW short weeks, we’ll be facing one of the most critical general elections to be held in Britain since the end of World War II. But why is it so critical? Because far too many of the most important people in any election have decided that their crucial role is meaningless. I refer, of course, to us, the voters: the decent, law-abiding majority who live at street level in the real world and not some privileged, cocooned existence many of our politicians have known all their lives. Yes, WE are the most important players in the coming general election, because the overwhelming majority of us have that inalienable, democratic right to cast our vote as we see fit, in a secret ballot.

However, in recent decades, vast numbers of us have not been bothering to vote, and that has resulted in very poor turn-outs which, in turn, have brought unpopular government after unpopular government. To make matters even worse, in the run-up to this May’s general election, the seemingly ubiquitous, self-appointed, public spokesperson Russell Brand has been trying to make a virtue out of not voting, by encouraging others to follow his lead. He claims by not voting he is making a protest. But he is wrong! So wrong, in fact, his ‘don’t vote’ strategy undermines the very fabric of the democratic process. Indeed, if that unravelling of democracy were to gain momentum, it would have the potential to propel us all into the nightmare of an unrepresentative totalitarian government.

So, in response to Brand’s assertions, I would like to put forward the other side of the argument. In short, not voting is not a virtue or a protest. On the contrary, it’s a cop-out and a rejection of a human right. By not voting, you throw away your rights to express your opinion through a secret ballot, and you also throw away your right to complain when a government makes decisions that are against your interests. Far too often, these days, we hear people claiming that they have rights, but how many of them actually vote? And how many of them know the true meaning of democracy?

Here’s what Wikipedia has to say on the subject:  “Democracy is a system of government in which all the people of a state are involved in making decisions about its affairs, typically by voting to elect representatives to a parliament or similar assembly. The term Democracy originates from the Greek word demokratia which translates as rule of the people.” But how can the people rule, and how can a Democracy exist if vast numbers of the people don’t bother to vote?

Here, then, is an alternative to not voting. If you’re on the electoral role and you want to make a protest on May 7, the only way of doing so effectively is by attending your polling station during voting hours and casting your vote. If you don’t trust any of the individual candidates listed on your voting slip and/or any of those leading their respective political parties in Westminster, say so! Simply spoil your voting slip by scrawling across it “I don’t trust any of you” or any other words of your choice, then fold it, and place it in the ballot box. By doing so, not only will you have exercised your right to vote, but you will also have made a powerful protest, and you’ll be helping to keep democracy alive.

And here’s how. Every vote in every ballot box is counted, and that includes spoilt voting slips. The more spoilt voting slips cast in an election, the louder the protest will be, because the returning officer in every parliamentary constituency is duty-bound by law to state how many spoilt voting slips have been counted. He or she does this when publicly announcing the details of the election’s results. So, if you really don’t have a preferred candidate or political party on May 7, get out and cast your vote anyway, by spoiling it. That voting slip will be counted along with all the others and, if enough voters decide to protest in this fashion, the political powers-that-be will be forced to take notice.

Please don’t listen to those who try to make a virtue out of not voting. They’re wrong! Not voting is not a protest. On the contrary, not voting removes your democratic human right to protest, despite what others might try to tell you.