Ten reasons to use your vote

By Mark Davies
BBC News Online political reporter

At the last general election, fewer than six out of every 10 people eligible to vote didn't bother. But there are very good reasons for using your right to vote - and here are 10 of them.

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1. It's your right. The simplest reason of them of all, but perhaps the most important.

Less than 100 years ago, women didn't have the right to vote. People died fighting for the privilege to place their cross on a piece of paper.

2. The winners represent you. Whether you vote or not, elected representatives have a duty to represent you. So surely it's wise to vote for the people you think will best do that?

If you plan to hold them to account for what they do in office, it makes sense to play a part in their election.

3. They make big decisions. Elected representatives at local and national levels make decisions which affect many aspects of day-to-day life.

Certainly, some local councils have seen power taken away and removed to Westminster over the years.

But councillors can still make important decisions about schools and social services. They can rule on planning applications and transport issues.

4. There's a huge amount of money involved. Local councils, not to mention the Welsh assembly and Scottish Parliament, control vast amounts of money. Billions and billions of pounds.

Elected councillors, MSPs in Scotland and AMs in Wales decide how to spend that cash.

And it's your money. That's got to be a good reason to vote.

5. The issues are close to home. The abandoned car, the pot-holed road, the rubbish dumped on the grass verge, the planning development on the next street - the people standing for election on 1 May can all do something about issues which affect your life every day.

6. Be at the cutting edge of democracy. Depending on where you live, you may be able to take part in the biggest experiment to date in electronic and postal voting.

Fifty-nine local authorities are offering 6.5 million electors new voting opportunities such as being to cast their vote using SMS text messaging, touch-tone telephone, the internet, interactive digital television or touch screen equipment at polling stations.

Various types of postal ballots are being trialled, while there are changes in voting hours and days in some cases.

7. Play your part in national politics. Like it or not, many commentators see this year's elections as similar to the US mid-term polls, providing an indication of the standing of the main political parties.

Will the Tories show signs of recovery? How will the war in Iraq affect Labour's vote? Will it be a good night for Charles Kennedy's Liberal Democrats?

Your view on all such matters will be reflected if you vote.

8. Elections are part of the fabric of our lives. The political world is one of the things which ties us all together.

BBC political editor Andrew Marr says; "As we are part of a highly developed social world, living inter-connected lives, a full sense of ourselves must surely involve some public thinking, some wider social views and choices - in short, some politics, however brief. "

9. Watch your vote make a difference. Election nights present a great opportunity for night owls to stay up and witness the political picture change.

And it's also an opportunity to watch our elected representatives put as fine a gloss as possible on the results.

How will they spin a frankly shocking performance? What positive glow can they put on a series of electoral disasters? How can they make defeat seem like glorious victory?

Honestly, for those of a certain disposition, it's even better than watching the results from the Eurovision Song Contest.

10. It's something to do. If all else fails, look at this way: it might be a nice day to pop out for a healthy stroll to the post box or the polling station.

One councillor in Surrey even recalls how a polling station encounter between two people from opposite ends of the political spectrum led to romance.

You just never know what might happen....