I READ with interest, and agreement, Barbara Bates’ views on the apathy within the country based on a poll which showed that only 45 per cent of the electorate would bother to vote if a General Election was called right now (HAS, May 26).

We live in an age where we are told we can vote for this, that and the third thing, usually at a cost to us financially, and on matters that are, in the grand scale of things, totally irrelevant (who cares who wins Big Brother, Britain’s Got Talent or the X Factor?) and yet, when it comes to exercising a vote which is free, so many choose to waste it.

Is it really that people believe it can make no difference, or is it the fact that in most cases it means getting out of one’s armchair and (heaven forbid) walking to a polling station? Well we don’t even have to do that nowadays, there is postal voting.

We all have plenty to say about the state of our country, our county, our hospitals, roads, and schools – but by not voting we lose that right.

Good on Barbara Bates. I will definitely be voting. Never mind swine flu, the biggest threat to us as a nation is apathy.

Fran Willows, Shildon, Co Durham.

I STARTED reading Peter Wilson’s reply (HAS, May 28) to Barbara Bates’ letter about voter apathy (HAS, May 26) with horror, but as I continued I realised that he is absolutely right. We must get the political parties out of our democracy.

Our MPs should owe their allegiance to us, not to their parties.

So what to do? I urge everybody to write to their MP, demanding the proportional representation system that the Irish enjoy and that makes their democracy real. We should have the single transferable vote for all of our elections.

An easy way to write to your MP is to go to writetothem.com/ Tony Pattison, Darlington.

IN light of the political shambles over MPs’ expenses, there appears to be a groundswell of opinion that people will either not turn out to vote or spoil their voting paper in Thursday’s European elections.

May I appeal to everyone eligible to go out and vote. We have a wonderful opportunity to let our elected leaders know how we feel about them through the ballot box.

If you are happy with the status quo, then vote for one of the main parties. If you want to withdraw from Europe, then Ukip gets your vote. If you want to remain in Europe with radical changes, then Libertas is your party.

Whichever you choose, I urge all readers to take the time and what is very little effort to vote.

Through the power of the ballot box we can make a significant difference to the politics of this country.

David A Coglan, School Aycliffe, Co Durham.