Don’t waste your democratic right

LOW turnouts in local government elections have become the norm in recent decades, with many taking the view that voting in them is a waste of time.

But such thoughts become a self-fulfilling prophecy if people choose to accept such a view.

If large numbers don’t cast their vote, those who are elected will become even more detached from the public than sometimes seems the case now.

Cynical local politicians will conclude that all they need to do is mobilise their core supporters to give them an excellent chance of victory.

Afterwards, they can relax in the comfortable knowledge that they’ve been re-elected for another five years and needn’t bother to engage too much with the wider public.

Of course, observations of this kind are only partly true.

There are many dedicated councillors across Wales who work hard for their communities, week in and week out.

Sometimes they are appreciated, especially when they do a lot of casework, helping residents with their council-related problems.

All of us living in Wales who are over 16 now have the opportunity to cast judgement on those who have been representing us.

Not to take it is a waste – and an insult to those from the Chartists to the Suffragettes who risked their lives for the right of themselves and others to vote.

It’s easy to be cynical and opt out – but if we do that we are endorsing other people’s choices rather than our own.

The responsible thing to do is to cast our votes, and have the satisfaction of knowing we have participated in a democratic election that many across the world are prevented from doing.

It is, of course, perfectly possible to carry on as if no election were taking place, and afterwards to ignore the result.

But very large sums of public money are spent by our local authority, and all of us contribute in one way or another, either via council tax or through other taxes including income tax and VAT, some of which will end up in local government coffers.

Not to participate in the democratic system that has been created for us seems like a self-indulgence we shouldn’t allow ourselves to contemplate.

We urge those who haven’t voted already to make their way to their local polling station and perform what ought to be regarded as a civic duty.