MKs and people in Northamptonshire who decided not to vote

Almost a third of eligible people have decided not to vote in the last four elections, and with people saying trust and confidence in British politics and the electoral system is at an all-time low, the BBC spoke to those who are seriously considering giving up voting, as well as those who are still undecided.

In a recent report for the National Centre for Social Research, election expert Sir John Curtice wrote: A record number of voters say they have “very little” trust in government. When times get tough, he puts country above party and politicians and speaks the truth.

“The public are more doubtful than ever about the credibility and effectiveness of this country’s system of government and the people who make it up,” Sir John warned.

“It doesn’t matter who wins,” said Krishna Bade, who lives in Milton Keynes.

“Nothing is going to change and even if a new prime minister comes into office I have no confidence that he will change anything or do anything at all for the UK.”

The 19-year-old said he is not registered to vote.

“Sorry, but I don’t pay much attention to British politics,” he says. “They’ve made everything worse.”

He said his views are a result of “what I’ve heard and seen” and “watching the news.”

“The situation is not very good,” he added. “I don’t think it will change anything no matter who I vote for.”

But he leaves open the possibility that he could change his mind.

“It depends. If they are actually trying to change things, then yes, I would probably change my mind.”

Araminta Pickford, 27, a mother of three, is studying hair and media make-up.

She said that although she has voted in the past, she will not vote this year, despite acknowledging the struggle women have had to fight for the right to vote and feeling a deep aversion to “wasting” that right.

Pickford said he was disappointed with politicians who “just make statements to get votes.”

“I don’t believe them and I turn my back on them,” she said. “I’m so used to hearing what they’re going to do: ‘If you vote for us, this is what’s going to happen.’ And then when you actually vote for them, it doesn’t happen.”

She says trust in politics and the political system is eroded.

“When you’ve seen people vote for a party for years and it doesn’t happen, you start to think, ‘What’s the point?'”

“If nothing is going to happen anyway, who should I vote for?”

“A lot of working-class people have very few people who can help them,” she said. “I think if we’re going to vote for someone, we need to vote for someone who’s going to stand up for what we want.”

“The situation in the country at the moment is very bad, people are struggling and we need a little bit of help, so please stick to what you say you will.”

But she hopes she will be proven wrong and that trust in politics can be restored in future.

John Reid, 73, from Northampton, Your voice, your vote project.

He wrote: “I have zero confidence in either candidate and for the first time in my life I will not be voting.”

He said he felt it was “impossible” to vote this time.

“I’ve always felt the need to vote,” he said, “but this year I feel very strongly that I can’t trust any political party or its leaders at all.”

He said it had left him feeling “pretty awful.”

“I feel terrible because people voted for us years ago, but I can’t vote for anyone.”

Christine Markham echoed Reid’s frustration with politics and politicians in general.

“I expect honesty, integrity and respect for my constituents,” said the 77-year-old, who lives in Daventry. “I don’t think we’ve seen that from any party in the last four or five years.”

“It’s really disappointing. We trusted our politicians. They have no respect for the people who voted for them.”

She can’t decide who to vote for and describes herself as “confused.”

She says she thinks she knows who she will vote for in her local legislature.

“But do I want that party to come to power? I don’t know,” she added.

At Milton Keynes College, the BBC met with many students who were politically interested and keen to get out and vote.

But others are less sure about voting, telling the BBC they worry they don’t know enough about politics yet to vote, or they are simply not interested in politics.

Tobi Nubi, an 18-year-old computing student, wants to become a data analyst or software developer after graduating from Milton Keynes College.

He said he doesn’t feel he yet knows enough to make an informed voting decision.

“A lot of what I hear about politics is through social media,” he says, “so I know what other people are saying.”

“If they [politicians] The more I do it, the more people will talk about it and I will listen and hear their stories.”

He said that although political issues pop up in his social media feeds, he tends to “scroll past them” unless there is a significant response.

Emily Grant, 18, is training to be a hairdresser.

She says she tries to avoid talking about politics whenever possible.

“I don’t know much about politics so I try to stay out of it,” she says.

“I’ve had customers ask me if I vote and I tell them I don’t.”

She talks about the disconnect between the political world and the world she sees around her.

Grant said he was concerned about various conflicts around the world and the “cost of living crisis”.

But she won’t vote.

“No one in my family or around me has ever voted,” she said. “It’s never even been a topic of conversation.”