Don't join the great Russell Brand vote boycott!

Russell Brand is no doubt a curious comedian who has been noted for more than the odd controversy down the years.  One latest controversy arose from Mr Brand's October stint as guest editor of a popular left leaning British political magazine.  Mr Brand talks about the need for a Revolution in consciousness and how we see the truth.  If you believe him, it could be that the Spiritual Revolution is now under way!  Is it really?

There can be no doubt that Russell Brand is very witty.  His notion that some of the planet's great religions are merely comparable to karate as great ideas, certainly tickled me.  As did his suggestion that shaking George Osborne's hand accidentally, was like sliding his hand into a dilated cow.  I do sincerely apologise incidentally at this point if I have offended anyone who is deeply religious.

Seriously though,  my interpretation of Russell Brand's spiritual revolution is that I just don't quite get him.  Brand makes some plausible points, but he also talks a lot of what I consider to be intellectual waffle as well.  Yes it is very concerning the power rich business people possess in today's Western World.  But the point he should make is that if any vested interest holds too much power then that is also worrying.  What I find particularly concerning is the point Brand makes that everyone should follow his example of staying away from polling stations.  I consider this viewpoint to be very worrying indeed!

Of course, many of us go through phases when we wonder if it is worth voting.  Many years ago, I did not cast my vote at a local election poll.  My recollection is that as I was so busy and pre-occupied with other stuff, I forgot the elections were even taking place.  In fact a few days later when I met up with some friends, I used another excuse along the lines of there being little point in casting a vote towards one political party with certain views against another party with similar views.  A very dear friend in fact gave me a right dressing down!  She was right.  The sacrifices which brave men and women have made to give present day Britons the right to vote, is a right that too many Britons take for granted.  I subsequently registered for a postal vote, and have voted in every General Election, European Election, and Local Authority Election ever since.  

As a Trade Union member I have always cast my vote whenever the Union has asked me to vote, whether it be an election for General Secretary or some other matter.  However as a member of one of the UK's biggest Unions, I recently found myself with a dilemma of which candidate to vote for as General Secretary.  At the time I was considering leaving this powerful Union for a more moderate and smaller Union, and was presented with a choice between two candidates who I believed to be very similar in a policy direction I did not consider to be desirable.

Against this backdrop, I simply could not support the manifesto of any candidate.  My response was to cast my vote with a spoiled ballot paper.  I have since decided to stick with the larger Union, mainly due to the excellent work done by the Union Reps at a local level.  On that note, I may well regret in years to come that I did not cast a vote in this particular election for either candidate on offer.  However, had I not cast my vote with the spoiled ballot paper, potentially my regret could be much greater.  AT LEAST I WAS TRUE TO MYSELF AND EXPRESSED WHAT I FELT AT THE TIME!

Now I do intend to continue to vote for a particular party/candidate at future UK Parliamentary and Local Authority elections.  That is despite me being a critic of the British Parliamentary Electoral System, the First Past the Post System.  The No Vote in the 2011 Referendum on Electoral Reform may well be a missed opportunity to give more voters the chance to be heard.  But from a personal personal perspective, should there ever be a moment in the future when I could not cast my vote to a particular party/candidate, I would have no hesitation in spoiling my ballot paper once again.

If we had a lot more voters spoiling their ballot papers than simply not casting their vote, the penny could well drop amongst the political classes that the Governing Party's share of the popular vote may not give them the necessary moral authority to carry through their programme of Government (even if they do have a working majority) and that to continue to ignore the voices at present which are unheard, cannot go on.  Considering turnouts at the last three British General Elections have been less than seventy per cent, turnout has been low enough as it is.

Like Brand, I share a strong distaste of a certain British newspaper owned by a certain Australian American Media Mogul.  His views will most definitely strike a chord with some disaffected sections of society.  But on the suggestion that it is good not to vote, I personally don't believe the Russell Brand option to be particularly appealing at all.