Remember to register to vote

On Thursday May 5th there are local elections in many parts of the UK. In Wales and Northern Ireland there are also elections for the devolved assemblies, and in Scotland there are Parliamentary elections.

However, there is one vote that everyone will have throughout the UK. A vote in the AV referendum. The referendum is to decide the voting system we use to elect our Westminster MPs.

The choice in the referendum will be between what we already use First Past the Post, where the winner is always the person with the most votes even if they get only 30% of votes from the electorate. Or a vote for change to the system-AV. AV ensures that the winner has 50% of the votes from the electorate and is what they use in Simon Cowell's X Factor.

It will be the single most important vote since 1975 referendum on joining the European Economic Community, also known as the ‘Common Market’

The deadline for voter registration is April 14th. You may also apply for a postal vote or a vote if you are overseas, but will need to do so over the next few days to be on the safe side. You can find out more by visiting About My Vote.