On failing to vote

I'm ashamed of myself.

I didn't vote in last week's European election because I didn't get myself on the electoral register because I'd decided it didn't really matter. Which I knew was nonsense even as I was convincing myself otherwise.

Mrs Pankhurst must be turning in her grave.

My sense of shame was then made even worse by this typically astute and entirely accurate cartoon from the rather excellent Dave Walker...

There is, as we all know, no point in crying over spilt milk. But there is, of course, a great deal of point in reflecting on where we find ourselves as a nation when in a national election only 34% of us even show up. And then of those who do, 27% vote for a single-issue party with highly dubious values.

So I'm going to be thinking about what I need to do over the next year to prepare myself not just to get myself to a polling station but motivate others to get there too. But I also want to think properly about the kind of values, character, ideals and ideas I'm looking for in my political leaders, and then I'm going to try and find some who properly fit the bill. No more protest votes. No more 'I'll just have a look at the leaflets that come through the door'.

Who knows what I might find...