Voters are less likely to turn out in constituencies where the result is perceived to be a foregone conclusion, according to this report by the Electoral Reform Society. Because of this the political parties invest more time and money to try to persuade us to turn out to cast our vote in seats where our vote is likely to change the outcome. In the countries safest seat, Bootle, the combined spend by all parties was 14p per vote cast, while in Luton South, the nations most marginal seat the combined parties spent £3.07 per vote cast. However the reason why we vote appears to have less to do with how much publicity we received from parties, particularly if this is printed material and much more to do with how much difference we perceive our vote will make, alongside the extent to which our neighbours and friends vote. A report by Joe Simpson shows that if people know that their neighbours vote, they are more likely to do so themselves. Joe’s report suggests that we largely ignore the printed material we receive, even though many of the parties still invest substantial sums in this form of paper based communication.

As we approach three years of national elections (EU in 2014, Parliament in 2015 and PCC in 2016) we can expect that unless the political parties change their approach, that those of us in the nations 85 marginal seats (down from 150 seats prior to 1974) are going to receive first class canvassing and engagement, while the remaining 87% of the nations political seats will get largely ignored. There may be a greater focus on the use of social media such as blogging, facebook and twitter than in 2010, but experience suggests that our politicians are neither confident of its use, nor in most cases particularly proficient in the way they use it. This report suggests somewhere between 20% and 30% of the 2010 election campaigns used twitter with other platforms used to different degrees. However the campaigns themselves did not use the social media to generate debate and involve electors, even though some people believe this would create a greater level of commitment from the people who use this sort of technology to form ideas and express their views.

Often ‘safe’ seats like Bootle have substantial numbers of people who believe that their views will never be heard, irrespective of their decision to vote or not. If we could find ways of using social media and other forms of informal networking to inspire those who are used to staying away, to turn up and vote, perhaps we could upset some of the cosy assumptions that lead to all Parties ignoring our communities except to treat as a statistical pin on the map. Perhaps if we could encourage people to come forward as Independent candidates who understand their area, and are not in hock to the political parties, Parliament itself could become a much more democratic place?