Vote, or choose to be ignored

The more people don't vote, the more they can expect to be ignored in this place.

Previously the ruling party could call a general election whenever it was politically advantageous to them. Or they could cling on to power for the allotted five years if that was all they could do.

From 2011 it was a “fixed” five years for any government. The new arrangement was adhered to until 2017 when the reality emerged that if the ruling party wanted an election, they could still have one at any time, if two thirds of the Commons voted for it.

In practice this meant saying “What, yer scared?” to the Opposition, who couldn’t be seen to back down from a fight.

After some preliminary hoo-ha, a similar thing has happened this time leading to the Early Parliamentary General Election Act 2019. The term has been un-fixed.

The upshot is that everyone, from hat to socks, is sick of elections - one “reason” being proffered for not voting.

I understand. Every time the BBC broadcasts a debate, Coronation Street gets a spike in the ratings. Ditto Eastenders when the debates are shown by ITV.

But the General Election isn’t being played out for our entertainment. This is the third one in five years, sandwiched between has been a referendum, plus the usual locals and Euros.

We’re entitled to be cheesed off. But that doesn’t lessen its importance and failing to vote is never a good move.

This is something that all politicians claim to agree on, although this was compromised recently by the 139 MPs who abstained from voting in the Parliamentary General Election Act 2019 debate, and the leader of the Brexit Party announcing that he might spoil his ballot paper on December 12.

But in Sunderland’s three constituencies in 2017 around 39%, approximately 80,000 people, didn’t vote.

This screamed a clear message to Westminster: “PLEASE IGNORE US”: and in the North East this is a particularly bad idea.

Non-voters are entitled to their views, but can’t reasonably expect them to be taken as seriously as those of voters by politicians and real people alike.

Even voting for one of the silly parties who dress up as cows or whatever (and are still apparently a scream), at least makes the point to the proper parties that you do vote, it’s just that they haven’t earned yours.

Some people don’t vote because they don’t understand politics. Well don’t worry about that. No one knows everything about it, including politicians.

This lack of information isn’t helped by the morass of misinformation, fake news, question-dodging, spin and outright whoppers.

It’s dispiriting that the media currently makes a great play of “fact checking” as it suggests that only now is such a thing is necessary.

But you owe it to yourself to sift through and vote how you think best. Select the candidate you either like most, or dislike least. Why, you can even decide on the basis of policies, should you choose to be radical.

If you’re reading this before 10pm on December 12, it isn’t too late.