Report to the People
2nd May 2005
Don’t Make Excuses
The sad, untimely death of our friend
and colleague, Jim Sutherland, cast a long shadow over last week.
It’s probably cold comfort, but I hope that his family can find some
solace in the fact that he was so well liked and well respected.
When
the fashionable view is that the public isn’t interested in politics, we
should remember that, across the country and across the political parties, there
are people like Jim: family men and women who give up their free time to
campaign for what they believe in.
They
don’t get any glory or public acclaim, nor do they seek it.
They are simply working, albeit from a particular perspective, to promote
involvement in the democratic process.
But,
despite their seemingly boundless enthusiasm, this army of hardworking
volunteers must feel disappointed when they read that around half us won’t
bother to vote on Thursday.
A
favourite excuse is that there’s no point voting in this election now that the
Scottish Parliament is in charge of everything.
Not so. Westminster still
controls, for example, the UK economy, the performance of which obviously
determines the amount of money Holyrood can spend on public services, your
mortgage rate and your chance of a job.
So,
no matter who you support, if your postal vote is still sitting on the
sideboard, get it marked and sent off tonight.
If you vote at the Polling Station then, come Thursday, don’t make an
excuse. Make time to cast your
vote.
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