This afternoon I received a phone call from a nice gentleman who was conducting a telephone questionnaire last weeks voting for the UK local elections. According to statistics, just over a third of the electorate voted in 3rd May's 2012 local election. A third! I was actually annoyed and appalled when I heard this statistic. Some people really enjoy the fact that the UK is meant to be a fair and free country, however when it comes to exercising this right, people become apathetic. Here are some of the reasons I have heard for people who do not vote:
- "Voting won't make any difference" - what I think doesn't matter. This is a popular reason for people not engaging with the political system. But during the London 2012 mayoral elections the votes ran very closely between the two main candidates. The number of votes which declared Boris Johnson the mayor was extremely marginal a mere 3%. This shows that individual votes do count.
- "There's no choice between the main political parties, they are all the same. Yes I agree with the view that the three main UK political parties do appear to be similar, especially with the leaders of the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats all having the same hair colour. However, there are differences in policies election promises. Do your research, find out what separates them? Vote for other parties if your beliefs dont align with the main parties, it's your responsibility to. Also if the main parties are not giving you what you want, get involved
in trying to change something that really matters to you by becoming part of a local politics or community initiatives.
- "I don't really care"- So, yes this is also true, some people don't care. They don't care about how much tax they have to pay, they don't care how many people are unemployed, they don't care if they can go to university without getting a loan and they don't care how often their local streets are cleaned. So if this is the actual case, never vote; but in the same vein, never complain about any of the things that are listed above.
- I'm too busy. Some people are busy, like lawyers, parents, doctors and nurses. However, the act of voting takes very little time, polling stations are conveniently placed in areas where people can access them easily. My polling station for example is located a mere two minute walk away. The act itself took me less than five minutes from start to finish.
- The voting system is unfair. I won't go in to much detail but some people believe that the "first past the post" voting system which is used in UK general and local elections isn't representative enough. Liberal democrats election promise was to do away with exactly this, and a referendum was called on the voting system. The findings were that most people wanted to stay with the current voting system and not the alternative voting system, or proportional representation. A form of proportional representation was used in the 2012 London Mayoral election.
So what I am trying to say is that voting is a duty which should be carried out by every one who can. People are dying for their right to vote as we speak. Therefore, I see no point in wasting it, use it as best as you can.
I think there was an extra problem this time. With the electorate becoming disillusioned/uninterested and a general apathy towards politics progressing - whether that's because the three parties are so similar in many ways, because electoral promises are not kept (and therefore trust is lost) or because of any other reason - I think the vast majority of people did not deliberately not vote, but simply did not know there was an election.
ReplyDeleteFor my local elections I received a poll card one month before the election and then heard nothing else about it until after the day. No leaflets coming through the door, no local campaigning. Now much of this is to do with money - it costs to campaign and, arguably, the bigger budget of the Conservative campaign compared with the other parties in 2010 had a big effect on the result - but if people were not aware of an election, how can they be expected to vote?
An alternative is that I live a sheltered existence and don't pay attention to what's going on! But I do take an interest in politics so actively chose to follow what was going on, simultaneously keeping an eye out for publicity - there was none. Many I know knew nothing of the mayoral referendum, for example, despite mainstream coverage in the media in choice places; those places being media outlets only people interested in politics in the first place would view. Popular media - say, Radio 1, never mentioned the elections until after the results were in. Radio 4 (more informative, different audience) on the other hand, covered it widely. I think politicians in this country have a duty to get out there and make a scene about elections, to rouse awareness first, support second. I don't think we can be surprised few voted if our primary sources of information aren't telling us about it, and if our politicians don't see it as important to shout loudly about it.
In this respect I think Australia has it better. Last week was their Budget. The very next morning, Prime Minister Julia Gillard and leader of the opposition Tony Abbott were on the breakfast show of TripleJ (the equivalent to Radio 1), outlining precisely what the Budget means to young people, and what the debates were all about. This would never happen in the UK, and it's a shame!
Also, great that you're posting about it :)
ReplyDeleteThanks simon, I actually only just noticed your comments, (my bad). You have some very good points and I'm sure you are right about some of your points.
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