In the recent local and European elections only a third (34 per cent) of the population bothered to vote.

When out canvassing for my  party, I was dismayed by the number of people who said that they weren’t going to vote – one man proudly admitting that he hadn’t voted for 30 years.

Another man said that he wasn’t interested in politics, only in his own family.

But how can that be the case when politics affects everything from the cost of your council tax to the choice of your child’s school?

We are privileged to live in a country where we can cast our vote freely without fear of threats or intimidation.

Voting could not be easier.

Even if you can’t attend the local polling station you can use a postal vote in the comfort of your own home.

Yes, there is a general mood of dissatisfaction with politics following the MP’s expenses scandal, but not all politicians lack integrity and they are certainly not all the same.

The electorate has got to start engaging in politics more deeply, not making snap judgements on little information.

I was asked to give a lady aged 90 a lift to her local polling station.

She had difficulty walking, but was determined to cast her vote in person. 

As I watched her walk slowly back to the car it made me reflect on the two thirds of the population who simply couldn’t be bothered to vote.

Anne Crook,
Monkhams Avenue,
Woodford Green.