No Excuse For Apathy

April 19, 2015 by Rob Kahl

No excuse for apathy.

It is going to be a very important few weeks. The General Election is now less than 3 weeks away and the battle is definitely starting to heat up.

All of the parties are telling us how good it will be when they are in power and how we can’t possibly have the other guys messing up the country.

Politics may not be everybodies idea of fun, but nobody can deny that it is vitality important. It may be one of the most crucial and closest elections in living memory if the polls are to be believed, but if people don’t actually get out there and vote, there is a real possibility that one of the fringe, more extreme parties has an opportunity of power.

In the recent Scottish referendum to decide whether they were going to break away from the UK all of the parties managed to really engage with the public and get people involved in the debate. As in our upcoming general election, everybody knew the outcome was going to be extremely close, but with a turn out of nearly 80% of the population voting it was a truly democratic outcome.

In the last general election the turnout was about 30% of the electorate and if it is anything around that or less this time, then who knows what will happen.

People should not be allowed to moan about the country or their circumstances unless they take the time to vote. Politics and politicians have a huge bearing on so many parts of our lives that people should take interest and take the time to have their voices heard.

It could be something close to my heart like house prices. The Tories have just announced another round of ‘right to buy’ council tenants able to buy their homes. They plan to sell about 1,000,000 council houses, but, will these be replaced by new ones, will they have a building project for affordable housing or will more and more people be fighting over the limited stock of current properties?

With education, after the shambles the Lib Dem’s made of tuition fees, Labour have announced that they will halve the current fees. This will obviously make a difference to the amount of debt graduates and will possibly end up with the amount of assistance families have to provide.

Health; the Lib Dem’s have pledged the £8bn the NHS apparently needs (I feel a bit numb about these sort of figures, they just seem so vast) but, that has got to be paid for from somewhere. The question is,  will it mean more local government cuts?

Immigration; I think even the person most uninterested in politics will know where UKIP stand on this one but, think about the number of immigrants working in so many areas propping up the economy? For example farming and the NHS, and also the amount of money they bring and generate the country.

Environment; most people know what The Green Party is all about but, if they get some form of power will there be more pressure of sustainable energy? Locally will that mean more pressure on our local council to allow the proposed wind turbine on Two Tree Island?

Now I am not going to tell anyone who to vote for and I wouldn’t even tell you who I am going to vote for. It must be a private matter that you have taken the time to research and settle for the party that most represents you and your beliefs, but, I must try to encourage you to vote for someone and at least get your voice out there.

So remember to vote on 7th May 2015 and if you are not registered to vote yet you must do it this week.

This article is by Rob Kahl @ Scott & Stapleton Estate Agents
Tel: 01702 47 11 55