04/10/2010: "Election issues - use your vote"

commonly heard views by me - "they are all the same" - "whats the point?" - "i live in a safe seat it wont make any difference" - "i dont do politics" - "people should just destroy their ballot papers"

there are more like this.... but stop for a minute and consider this.
it may not seem important to vote, especially in a general election, but you should vote at every given opportunity, it affects things more than many people realise.

forget who you vote for, anyone will do, be it the main parties or the paint monkeys green and call yourself tracey party, it matters not, but the fact that you have voted does.

i know of an area, called a "ward" for those wanting to stand in parliament or on their county councils, that has a voter turn out of over 80% for every election.
this area are canavssed every election, even for the local council, as well as the two big elections, for an mp and county councillors.

if you are a candidate to be an mp or a county councillor, as an example, in your area you have 10 wards that vote to decide if you get elected or not
7 of those voting wards have a turn out at each election of around 30% - this is just 30% of possible voters that bother to put a cross on a sheet of paper - well call this group A
the other 3 wards have a turn out of over 80% - well call this group B

if your area falls into group B - id guess that you dont get much investment in your immediate area, waiting times for repair of kerbs pavements road surfaces, etc, are long
are there many parks around your area, or sports fields? id guess that these are in other areas of your town and not your "ward"
if they are in your area, are they well maintained?
do the candidates come around and knock on your door, are the councillors or mps regular visitors? i would doubt it.

those living in wards that fall into group B dont seem to get much investment.

if your area falls into group A - you will see the odd new park or play area set up, grass is cut regularly and roads are cleaned, road surfaces are in general better than other areas, repairs are carried out quite quickly. if there is any investment, homes in your area might get a facelift, speed traps are put in where children are, after residents voice their requests. you are canvassed and see your mp or councillor now and again, etc.

those living in group A dont get everything, but they do get things faster and things are generally in a better state of repair.

the point:
yes there is one..... when someone wants to be elected, the 3 wards that have a high turnout are deemed to be more important than the other wards - i know theyd never admit to this, but if they win the 3 wards in group A, then theyd only need 1 or two of the other wards.
you could in theory win 7 wards and still lose the seat as the turnout is regularly low in the ones you win, accumilating less votes, especially damaging to your chances if they want to be an mp.

those seeking election dont just look at numbers of who votes for and against them, they look at turnout of everyone in each area!
once in office, those areas with a higher turnout, will be worth more votes to them come the next election, so investment is targetted (to a degree)

in my area we only have about 30-35% turnout of all the people that bother to vote - we get nothing. 2 year waiting list for road repairs, pavement repairs, etc. street cleaners only once every other month from what i see, later rubbish collections etc, all kinds of things like this.
if we had a voter turnout of over 80% we would do much better when it comes to services and investment in our area.

so i am asking you to USE YOUR VOTE - regardless of which party you support, the more of us that vote, the less those in power can afford to ignore us!