Here’s a strange and sobering fact. The most popular party by far in the 2015 general election was in fact the No Party.

This shadowy organisation has a truly diverse membership in every corner of the UK and even in our fair city of York. Some of its members are passionately committed to No. For them it is the ultimate common sense. Others vote No through apathy.

Now, you may imagine I am referring to voting No on issues of public concern like staying in the EU or Trident renewal. Maybe No to a return to fox hunting. Perhaps No to more privatisation and ‘austerity’ funding of the NHS and other public services we rely on.

My answer is No. Because the naysayers I have in mind are the huge party of the discontented who choose not to vote at all in general elections, and most especially the young.

The statistics say it all. Think the Conservatives (as they used to be called before morphing into Team Theresa) won the most votes in the 2015 general election? Think again. They polled 24% of the national registered vote and were rewarded with 331 MPs. Labour got 20% and 232 MPs.

But the biggest party, the really popular choice among registered voters was the No Party. A landslide of 34% opted for non-voting. In York Central the percentage of abstainers was above the national average at nearly 37%.

York Press:

Is it just me who finds those statistics deeply disturbing?

Let’s consider what is at stake here. Democracy, as has often been pointed out, did not drop from the tree of history like an over-ripe fruit ready to fall.

Generations of working people battled with those in power to influence major policy decisions. Not to mention the struggles of the Suffragettes to ensure that women gained a voice.

Non-voters are saying, in effect, let those in charge do what they like to me and my family.

The usual justification is that voting never changes anything so what’s the point. And it is easy to see why. For far too long, Westminster has been a cosy club where MPs schmooze with business lobby groups and media organisations to ensure mutual self-interest.

MPs routinely receive large payments for part-time lobbying from cash-rich firms. And the expenses scandals in 2009 revealed a shadowy world of fat-cattery at the heart of government. Little wonder people are cynical.

A good case in point is creeping privatisation over the last few decades, culminating in the Royal Mail sell off. The profits to be made are mouth-watering and the sums involved colossal. Yet scores of MPs and peers have profitable financial links to private health care providers or other firms flush with tax-payers’ money.

None of this is illegal. But you can see why it swells the ranks of the No Party.

Another justification for non-voting is that our current first-past-the post electoral system means all too often your vote is simply discounted.

If you live in a constituency where one party dominates you can vote until you’re blue, red, orange, purple or green in the face and it will not affect the overall make-up of the MPs in Parliament. Only a system of proportional representation could change that. Personally, I would love to see such a reform.

All of the above may sound tremendously negative. But I believe we should feel energised at the prospect of having our say on June 8. Most pundits agree that this time the election is a two horse race between the Conservatives and Labour. All the more reason then to scrutinise the policies offered by ALL parties before placing your best bet for a good government.

Voting is a privilege people are literally dying to gain all over the world. Through a simple, positive cross on a slip of paper we could ensure, for example, our social care and hospitals are world class and that the wealthy contribute their fair share. We could attempt to solve the housing crisis and ensure a Brexit based around jobs not dogma.

Voting No will never achieve such gains. Please vote Yes by voting.

  • This column was written before the Manchester bombing on Monday night.