Opinion: Voting matters - even in safe seats

“THEY’RE all the same” and “It doesn’t change anything” are two of the most common reasons that people give for not voting.
Except that definitely isn’t true this time round. In fact, the two main parties have not gone into a General Election campaign on such different platforms for 30 years.
And that’s just Labour and the Tories. In Meriden you can also choose to cast your vote for the Lib Dems, Greens or UKIP.
The West Midlands is of course a key battleground in what could be one of the most pivotal polls of modern times.
It's no coincidence that Theresa May rounded off her campaign at this constituency's own National Motorcycle Museum, flanked by members of her cabinet. And 24 hours earlier Jeremy Corbyn had addressed a mass rally just down the road in Birmingham, calling on Clean Bandit and the comedian Steve Coogan to address the cheering crowds.
Meriden is of course considered a safe seat and the real focus of activists in recent weeks has been in more marginal seats such as Edgbaston - one of the prize jewels from Labour's 1997 landslide - and Birmingham Yardley.
Perhaps this is part of the reason for apathy among many of our readers. While turn-out across the entire constituency was a relatively respectable 64 per cent two years ago, the proportion of people eligible to vote in the north of the borough who actually did so was rather lower.
This is cause for concern because it is specifically areas where wages are being squeezed, jobs are less abundant and crime is slightly higher, that the decisions taken by parties at Westminster are likely to have even more impact on residents.
If you’re still convinced that what happens in Parliament is somehow separate from the lives of people in Chelmsley Wood or Kingshurst then take a look through our most recent issue.
Whether it’s changes to public transport policy, rising cases of domestic violence or arguments over education funding, there is a direct consequence here, in our community, to the decisions made there.
As a publication, Other Side of Solihull takes pride in being non-party political. We believe that all those who stand and serve have a right to be heard and every argument held up to scrutiny.
On this basis we have no intention of following the example of the national press and telling you which box to cross on today. We only ask you take the time to read the policies, think about what matters to you and get down to the polling station.

• On the ballot paper: Alison Gavin (Green), Les Kaye (UKIP), Tom McNeil (Labour), Antony Rogers (Lib Dem) and Caroline Spelman (Conservative). Polling stations are open 7am-10pm. You must be registered to vote but you do not need to take your polling card with you.