Bedtime For Democracy


It seems to have snuck up upon me recently, but there are local elections on May 3rd. For someone as political as I am, I've existed locally in a void : not quite aware of the local constituency, or even, until about 10 minutes ago, aware who is my local MP. He's a Tory. And shadow minister for Immigration.

In some respects, having examined the voting record, it doesn't matter who I vote for. Labout get around 11,000 votes, Liberal Democrats around 17,000. And there's a total of around 60,000 votes in the area. Unless I can get 6,000 votes, and get everyone who voted Labour to switch to Lib Dems, my vote is, in effect useless.

I've never voted Tory. I remember the Eighties. The decade where the poor were invisible, and only the rich mattered. In any case of the haves and have-nots, the rich and the poor, the in and the out crowd, I've only ever been in the out crowd. I felt the kicks of Conservatism. I ate sandwiches in McDonalds as the money became a drought. We scrabbled for every penny as we starved for money. It wasn't easy. Then again, is it ever?

In all probability I will never vote Conservative in my life. But I live in a Tory Ward : is my vote wasted? It's been Tory for as long as I can find out. So much for democracy.
- posted by Mark @ 8:40 am