County council election turnout: apathy or idleness?

Are people in Cumbria completely apathetic about their votes?

Do you not want to vote for your county council?

4th May County Council Election Results

Conservatives 37
Labour 26
Liberal Democrats 16
Independents 5
TOTAL SEATS 84

Electorate 380,797, turnout 141,500 (37.2%)

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37.2% turnout!

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It wasn't even raining for goodness sake. Was there something better on the telly? Or could you just not be bothered to go and vote?

"It's not like it's important is it?"

The county council only makes decisions about a few things, so it's not like it's important is it?

Just so that you know, these are the services the county council funds, provides or administers:

• State Schools and Children's Services, including Foster Placement and Education Welfare
• Adult Social Care Services
• Fire and Rescue Service (advice for emergencies here)
• Trading Standards
• Roads, footpaths and street lights (report a fault here)
• Libraries and Archives
• Blue Badge Scheme
• Public Health
• Public Safety
• Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths
• Civil Marriage Services
• Coroner Service
• Transportation
• Waste Management

Still think not voting for county councillors is not worth doing? 

So how many of you did vote?

Here in South Lakeland more of us did bother, the turnout here was 47%. Still not brilliant, but a darn sight better than 37.2%!  Barrow-in-Furness turnout was only 27.3% which is just dire! 

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I do hope that come 8th June more people will both to vote in the General Election, otherwise the next five years will see the UK governed by a right-wing group hell-bent on destroying everything that is good about the UK, a group which will have been elected by a small percentage of the total voting age population.

If you need further convincing that the right-wing vote has gone to the Tories, this comparison graphic of the 2017 and 2013 party voting percentages in Cumbria shows only too clearly where the Tory vote increase came from!

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So, if you want to live in a fascist state vote Tory and suffer the consequences (1930s repeated), but if you want to live in a country which cares for everyone irrespective of age, ability, debility, race, gender, etc, then do the proper thing, and #VoteLabour on 8th June. 

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