The political editor at the Swindon Advertiser reports the following with a tone of surprise:
"It seems voter apathy has engulfed the town just 10 days before residents are
due to go to the polls for the local elections... None of the 30 people
questioned... knew who their current councillor was or who else was standing for
election. In the straw poll it was found that just under a third surveyed said
they would be voting."
Well to be fair 33% is about average for turnout, knowledge about local representatives is always low; lets face it on average less than 40% can name their MP, so why the surprise?
The positive aspect, however, is the debate raging in the comments between those like 'Fed up' who ask "why bother to vote" and 'I too could be a councillor' who argues "not voting at all indicates that you think everything is hunky dory and you're perfectly happy". Habermas would be proud of the reinvigoration of the public sphere, at some levels admittedly, ICT offers.
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