Please don't waste your vote

At last, the General Election date has been announced and every adult has a valuable right to exercise – the right to vote.
Sadly, large numbers of people are saying they cannot be bothered to use their right and this apathy is democracy’s greatest enemy.
They have forgotten how their ancestors fought against tyrannical kings and abusive nobility to win the freedom to elect their rulers, and the fairer, healthier and more rewarding lives which followed as a direct result of the struggle.
The excuses for not voting are feeble and range from “all politicians are the same”, to “my vote won’t make any difference”, and the pathetic cop-out, “I’m not interested”.We get the politicians we deserve.
The more interest we show now, the better the candidates for election we are likely to get in the future.
As for “my vote won’t make a difference”, they all count and add up to a collective decision. People who claim not to be interested in their schools, NHS, environment and taxes would have different opinions if they had lived somewhere without democracy – like Hitler’s Germany, Soviet Russia or modern day Burma. And lets not forget the Suffragettes who campaigned fiercely for women's right to vote.
Our policies remain the same. Your local paper will not presume to advise readers on who to vote for, but I do hope you will vote for someone.
Philip Welch