As the
euphoria dies down over the Nantwich and Crewe By-election it is not
especially the result that makes me proud! It is the actual turn-out.
58.2%
of the good people of the ward turned out to vote! In a by-election!
Political observers have been worried for a long time that the British public
was
gradually becoming disenfranchised and had little or no interest in politics.
I, too,
shared
this concern.
Younger
voters especially told me ‘What difference does it make?’ and it was
beginning to seem that they were right.
To encourage my
daughters to use their vote, I frequently extolled the Suffragette movement, but
they were not as impressed as I had hoped. They were as apathetic as most of
their friends.
Ok, democracy seems
in short supply! The government go ahead ‘willy-nilly’ spending our money
on schemes that any one with a grain of commonsense would see would not work.
The 10p tax rate fiasco was only another example of a government no longer
listening; much too busy feathering their own nests.
CSA – failure!
Pensions- failure! Northern Rock-Stand back and sit on your hands till it gets
worse and then be forced to take action! And so it goes on.
Petrol prices
ludicrous. Food prices heading the same way. Gas and Electricity up.
But huge bonuses
for those who make a mess of their job. (Heathrow Terminal 5 for example!)
I was wondering
just how much more people would take!
And then along came
Nantwich and Crewe. A pathetic and childish ‘class-war’ campaign from
Labour and the voters finally decided: Enough is enough!
I take my hat off
to them!
Not only did they
have the sense to turn out and vote, but they also were astute enough to realise
that a Lib Dem option would not be strong enough to air their discontent. It had
to be more pointed than that! These people really wanted to make their voices
heard! And they succeeded!
Not only that, but
Edward Timpson (Con.), in his acceptance speech, was at pains to emphasise that
he was under no illusions and promised that he would work hard on behalf of all
the people of the area.