Make yourself heard at the ballot box

Polling stations are opening across the country for an election which should never have happened. The official European election campaign period has been brief and most would be forgiven for an inability to recognise who they are even voting for.

It is unclear how long elected members will even sit in the European Parliament before a Brexit of some sort leads to their recall.

In truth, the run-up to the election has been little more than an extension of the interminable debate around the 2016 referendum on leaving the European Union.

That is not to suggest this ballot is anything other than vitally important for the future of the country.

It comes at a time in which the UK is more divided than ever before.

The old certainties of two – three at a stretch – party politics at Westminster are under threat for the first time in generations with Nigel Farage and his recently formed Brexit party seemingly relentless, polling spectacularly south of the border and relatively well in remain-voting Scotland.

The 2016 poll was seen by many as a protest vote – a howl at the “elite” running Westminster with little thought to those left to deal with the consequences of austerity, poorly funded schools and hospitals and the rise of a foodbank culture which seems to have become the norm, rather than a shameful exception.

Today’s ballot threatens to become a similar protest – this time against a parliament which has failed to deliver on a clear mandate to organise a withdrawal from the EU which protects the national interest.

Instead, we teeter on the brink of a chaotic and potentially ruinous no-deal exit after which, it will be too late for regrets.

An election should not be a mere protest – the ability to vote is democracy’s greatest weapon.

Making your voice heard through the ballot box is more effective than waving a flag, shouting a slogan or throwing a milkshake.

Today is the chance to make your voice heard.

Use it.