Before you gift your X

Just as at every election, homes across the UK suddenly become the focus of political groups and candidates visiting homes and communities posting flyers through the letterbox of the prospective X on the ballot paper next to the name of a candidate.

This is done under the flag of Democracy by candidates some who are involved for the best interests of the communities they hope to server. others are there for the gains for the national dinosaur party they represent above all else with the prize they seek of power and control for the Westminster party rather than the true need in elections for putting the interests of People and Place as the true priority of all elected memebrs from local councils through to the halls of Westminster.

Unfortunately, many of the doors knocked and leaflets posted will hear little from the individual candidates that go on to be elected between elections many may never even hear anything from the candidates even during the election period.

Many will get a card through the door to attend a voting station on a set day or if registered receive a postal vote to select from a list of candidates with a simple X next to a name and that is it until the next time you are called on to place and X next to a name.

Many will place that X without knowing any policies or anything about the candidate simply placing that X because the name is next to a party name they have always pit the X next to because their parent voted for the same party and their grandparents before them or because it’s the party on the UK wide stage they prefer over another for a reason they have seen flash up on Facebook or heard mentioned in the pub, in work or down the park.

Yet they are voting for someone to represent them locally on issues affecting the daily life of their family, their community and themselves with that X and know nothing of the individual they afford their X

Come election night those bits of paper become part of what at times can only be described as a rugby scrum when the black box full on folded papers is opened and the contents flow out onto a table with individuals sat poised one side to start to unfold and put into piles and the other a scrum of candidates and counting agents huddle ready to try and count the papers with the X next to their candidates of intrest.

Suddenly a paper is unfolded shoulders bump and the scrum begins as people push and jostle to see where the magical X is placed as the paper lands on the table.

And its off the count is underway marks are placed on bits of paper by the counting agents hoping to tally the results before the official vote count is announced.

At the end of the count the local returning officer steps forward calls the candidates and their appointed agents to the side and quietly reveals the results for the ward or election of an MP the constituency. Often with the words please dont react or disclose the results until I have made the official announcement of the count.

For all but one name on that list the race to win is over and the scrum moves on to the next table counting the ballots for another ward and candidate with the candidates left standing on the side awaiting the official declaration of the results in public. For one candidate the words will mean they have been elected gathering the greatest number of X’s next to their name and they are about to be bestowed the honour of representing people for a term of office.

Many unfortunately at this point as the winner is announced get a pat on the back well done and then the reality of office hits, they are now part of the system and have responsibilities to represent and deliver.

As the count ends candidates and elected memebrs leave the room and step put into to the cold night air and go off their separate way.

For many this is one of the last times until the next election they will see sight of the person they put an X next to the name of to represent them.

Many will not even take the time to find out who was elected to represent them especially in local elections.

I have come across cases where people have taken the time to find out or discovered who the elected representative is when they have an issue they need sorted and are disappointed the individual is not as accessible or the person they think should be representing them only to then discover they voted for that person not because of the person but because the party’s name was there.

The failure to engage also has resulted in lots of people no longer even bothering to pace their prized X on a ballot paper because they feel they dont get listened to or represented.

There is a vast disconnect especially evident in local elections that often results in a turnout of less than 35% to vote. This results not only in a lack of true representation but also often results in representatives elected to office for a term with vast array of influence on our daily life and communities with just a few votes often just a few hundred some times less votes.

Some candidates have been landed in seats with no links or knowledge of the area and not known by the electorate and often these are the memebrs elected that are never seen until the next election and fail to represent that starts the downward spiral the next election of more voters not bothering to vote because they never get listened to or represented.

Every adult in the UK has the right to cast a vote as their voice in an election the power of the X can change the course of the country.

An example in the local May elections in 2019 a candidate was elected as a ward councillor with a turnout of 24% and received just 283 votes. That candidate was part of a party that gained 12 seats on the council with another group gaining more seats but not enough to take overall control.

Other party elected members and independents acted to form a coalition with the group of the member that was elected with just 283 votes and the group them elected not the public this individual to be the leader of the council.

The council leader was put into office based on 283 votes from just 24% of the registered voters in the ward they stood in.

This is not just an issue of local councils the same happens at the top of government were the party with control or coalition decide not the public who will be the prime minister and lead the country now in the case of the serving PM Boris Johnson this is because he was elected by 25,351 individual votes as the MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip on Thursday, 12 December 2019.

Some members of councils are serving never having to even have a single X placed on the ballot paper for them as the number of candidates did not require the election as the number of candidates against seats available was equal and not contested as a result.

The risks we face is this downward spiral in turn out and candidates standing will get to a point were more and more are elected either with the voters not knowing who they have elected or never even getting to place an X for a candidate as there are not contested elections.

What is the answer to this spiral of democracy and representation?

The first fix is to find out who the candidates are you can vote for in an election dont just place an X because its next to a party name you have always voted for.

Would you go buy a house from an estate agent without viewing the house first just because you purchased your last house from the agent or your parent bough their house via the agent?

The next fix to the system is get registered to vote and use the vote having found out about the candidates.

My own view is that voter registration should be automatic and a legal requirement to cast a vote in elections to ensure the representation of all is reflected in the elections.

My next maybe more radical fix to the broken system of elections is that only the name of the candidates should be displayed on the ballot paper in elections.

The system in the UK is not a balanced one and needs change but to deliver that change the voice of voters must be a voice of all not just a small 35% or less.

Once elections are over its up to every member of the community to hold elected memebrs to account that are there with the honour of representing and serving us from local councils to parliament.

Democracy is a fragile state that if we fail to uphold the rights it gives to vote will be used by the few to take the power over the many because we failed to use the power of the X as our voice to protect the democracy we have.

The overall system of government in the UK and the need for it to be radically refreshed is a topic for another day but any form of government structure is only a democracy if all are involved and all have and use the voice, they have to deliver it.

On May 6th in many areas elections are taking place so go find out about all the candidates that are seeking your prized X next to their name before you give them your voice to represent and after the election make sure they represent you and deliver for your community hold to account and remember they serve us all only with the power of the X we grant them and can take away at the next election.