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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Letters

The shock of having a vote that counts

Votes being counted after the UK's EU referendum last week
‘No wonder so many thought their leave vote, or their failure to vote remain, wouldn’t make a difference,’ writes our reader Claire Lewis. Photograph: Neil Hall/Reuters

One of the many, many problems with this referendum is that most of the people of this country are not used to democracy – they are not used to a situation where their vote actually counts. Only 24% of the electorate voted Conservative in 2015, yet they gained an overall majority. With so many of us living in safe seats, we go to the polling station knowing that unless we support the incumbent party, our vote counts for nothing. In fact, my constituency has changed colour twice since I moved here, from blue to yellow to red, but I vote Green. Unless I happened to live in Brighton Pavilion, my vote didn’t count at the last general election, or any preceding one. No wonder so many thought their leave vote, or their failure to vote remain, wouldn’t make a difference. So few votes do.
Claire Lewis
London

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