Why we can't be bothered to vote - and why we must

Yes, spring is sprung and a person's thoughts may soon turn to the "X" that marks the spot. Or not.

It sounds wonderful on paper. Ever since Cromwell ended the divine rights of kings, the English have worn their love of democracy like a badge.

How we delude ourselves.

My voting preferences are hardly a secret. If there are no Independent candidates on the menu, then I simply spoil the ballot paper. The important thing is that I always toddle off to polling station and go through the motions. Come rain or shine.

It is the least I can do - if only in recognition of ancestors who fought and died so that pampered, fortune-blessed descendants such as myself could exercise their right to have a say in how the country is run.

Over the last few years, there has been a steady decline in the numbers of people turning out to vote. Politicians are quick to condemn apathy, blaming everyone and everything. Yet they rarely identify the real problem.

And that is themselves.

It is no mystery why people are forsaking those who make the decisions. The reason is obvious. And it's this - the growing suspicion that politicians, both at a local and national level have greater allegiance to party rather than people.

The tail is wagging the dog. In today's Britain, the hectoring tones of the pressure group are heard above all else. The voice of the individual is ignored, lost in the babble of those who shout hardest and longest.

Resentment is expressed in the only avenue of protest available. Boycott of the ballot.

The Government is becoming increasingly concerned, though. It has been estimated that 20 per cent of the electorate is now voting for fringe parties such as the British National Party and the UK Independence Party.

And locally - at Droitwich - we have recently seen people banding together as independents.

However, although hands are thrown up in horror, nothing is done to address the problems that cause these defections in the first place. The extreme right-wing BNP is condemned for being just that and the UKIP is written off as "little Englanders".

But haughty dismissal of such developments is not just symptomatic of the shortcomings of the politically unsophisticated. It is more to do with the knee-jerk reactions of an elite under siege.

Nationally, we now have an autocracy in charge of our affairs. Government is run on the American model. We have had a President ever since Margaret Thatcher stood on the doorstep at Number 10 back in 1979.

The safety net of the Cabinet system has been removed. In its place is a gang of yes-men and women with rubber stamps poised. The very corruption that the Lord Protector ended - ironically enough, at Worcester in 1651 - has returned.

Only this time it is the Divine Right of Prime Ministers.

People feel powerless. Like small children, we are patted on the head over the fear of crime. Nasty crime will go away, we are told. Vandalism, litter... all gone by September. People who are most certainly not racists express concern about the never-ending tide of foreign job seekers.

Don't worry. The numbers will be halved by September, we are told. What is this obsession with September?

The privatised rail service is a joke, daily travel is a nightmare and, should you be foolhardy enough to travel in a south-eastwards direction beyond London, then you'd better put at least a couple of days aside to allow for the return trip.

The National Health Service is now a meaningless term. Like the railways, it is a hived-off business top heavy with parasitic managements lording it over a small and dedicated but overworked core of key workers slaving away at the sharp end.

Billions of pounds are lavished on every cause imaginable except the ones that concern you. Meanwhile the Chancellor's war chests overflow with money while the sick elderly, nuisance that they are, are obscenely termed "bed-blockers".

Feeling powerless?

MPs vote themselves a massive rise in their own pensions, to be paid for by the taxpayer. Those of us not in the public sector must make our own arrangements.

But one by one, the boltholes are blocked. Many private pensions have been wrongly sold, there is a big question mark about occupational pensions and the state provision - the last redoubt between survival and penury - inexorably decreases in value.

The rich and powerful are given more. But the honest worker and dutiful provider for his children is told there will be less for him when age and infirmity put an end to his usefulness.

On a local level, power is wrested from the individual and passed to outside corporations. Supermarkets bully - and keep on bullying - until their demands are met.

Using their limitless funds, they keep on pressing with costly planning appeals in order to destroy schools and disrupt entire communities until they have their own way.

They know that councils will eventually have to capitulate as they realise that no more taxpayers' money can be devoted to the fight.

While this goes on, headmasters with inane grins are pictured in the Press, studiously pouring over draughtsmen's plans as if they have the slightest inkling about what is going on.

Such dupes are the best friends vested interest could possibly wish for.

Across Worcester, several acres of fields are earmarked for an enormous industrial estate with a small football facility attached. The inclusion of a stadium in the plans is called an enabling development - it means the development can go ahead with a clear conscience.

We are supposed to believe that this is all in order to realise The Faithful City's dream of sporting excellence. The fact that the average Saturday afternoon gate rarely exceeds the total population of four large Worcester streets seems to have no relevance.

Residents in the Spetchley area protest. Scant notice is paid to their worries.

Feeling powerless by any chance?

Nearer home, a few inches to the left, You Say is packed with the concerns of ordinary people. Many of these correspondents, from time to time, ask questions of their public representatives.

With a few notable exceptions - especially since the change of control on Worcester City Council - they are routinely ignored. Labour politicians and their friends tend to secretly complain, marking their letter "not for publication".

Instead, they would much, much rather request a cosy coffee morning to "discuss matters". You Say becomes a substitute for the hustings, the only forum left open for the people.

The net result of all this is a feeling of helplessness among the population. If we cannot influence the course of events, then what is the point of voting?

A negative view, you might say. But we cannot ignore the fact that voters are now deserting in droves. And there is no point in the politicians passing the buck. It rests with them.

For if they are serious about democracy, then they must start addressing the needs and aspirations of the ordinary citizen. But until that day comes, they have no right whatsoever to criticise those who feel such justifiable frustration with the present state of affairs.

They must choose between party or people. It's not possible to serve two masters.