Why I didn’t vote
Posted on May 07 2008 | Tagged as: Attempts at self-justification
I refused the opportunity to cast a vote in last week’s London mayoral/assembly elections. Normally I’d consider this a dereliction of duty, but did so for two (related) reasons.
Firstly, I don’t consider the “expression of popular will” aspect of democracy1 to be as important as the chance to easily change government — as Tim says, “the occasional opportunity to throw the bastards out”. (Hence most elections being fought on competence rather than policy.)
Having lived in London for less than three weeks before the election, it wasn’t remotely my place to do so.
Secondly, I would’ve lost my vote in my native constituency2, and feel obliged to vote against both my [former] MP (Helen Goodman, idiot toady to the Labour party leadership) and MEP (Fiona Hall, just a plain idiot).
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1 Because what we’ve been lumbered with is too top-down for this to actually happen anyway.
2 The system having been mended since the 2005 General Election, when I voted in Cardiff Central and Bishop Auckland.
